Schweiz: Blocher am Pranger
Die Zürcher Oberstaatsanwaltschaft hat die Villa und einen Firmensitz von Christoph Blocher durchsucht. Zudem wird ein Strafverfahren gegen den Zürcher SVP-Nationalrat wegen Verletzung des Bankgeheimnisses eröffnet. Es soll geprüft werden, ob sich Blocher an der Weitergabe von geheimen Bankdaten der Familie Hildebrand beteiligt und sich damit strafbar gemacht hat.


Zum Teil in Schweizerdeutsch (Schwyzertüütsch)

'Haider Is Our Lady Di'
THE GUARDIAN: As the leaders of Europe's far-right parties gather for today's state funeral of Austria's most controversial politician, is European fascism once again on the rise?

In their hundreds they stand in line, waiting to pay tribute to their hero. Girls with iPods, skinheads in leather jackets, elderly women with shopping trollies and tanned athletic types in Prada sunglasses shuffle silently forward.

"We wanted the kids to feel the enormity of the occasion. After all, he is our Lady Di and this is our 9/11," says Anton Krem, 45, who is here to pay his last respects to Jörg Haider, the Austrian rightwing populist politician who died in a drunken, high-speed car crash a week ago and whose coffin sits on a pedestal in the Landhaus, seat of Carinthia's regional parliament, the southern province where he was governor.

An after-work crowd of about 300 makes its way through an avenue of huge wreaths. Everyone from the Chamber of Carinthian Chemists to the regional tourist board has sent a display. Klagenfurt, the state capital, is busy preparing itself for today's ceremony, the most emotional state funeral since that of the last Austrian empress, Zita von Bourbon-Parma, in 1989.

Amid a sea of red candles one teenager has written: "To a great man of the nation who fought for his land. Our hero, our fighter, our sunshine." Another note reads: "Our king of hearts". Slipped in between are pictures of Haider, an orange sweater - the colour of his breakaway Alliance for the Future of Austria party (BZO) - draped over his shoulders, glass of beer in hand; another shows the maverick fascist bungee jumping off a bridge.

Behind the scenes, functionaries and volunteers have been working around the clock sending invitations. Austria's political elite are expected to attend tomorrow. But the 50,000 mourners are also expected to include Belgian nationalist Filip Dewinter, French extremist Jean-Marie le Pen, Alessandra Mussolini, the granddaughter of the Italian wartime fascist leader, Umberto Bossi from Italy's Northern League, Swiss industrialist Christoph Blocher, and a handful of Waffen-SS veterans, whom Haider once described as "men of character". Younger far-right figures have also hinted they will turn up, though Austrian intelligence is on alert to turn away groups of skinheads or neo-fascists, to stop the event turning into a rally.

With state broadcaster ORF planning live coverage, President Heinz Fischer, who will give the main speech, and other politicians have asked for assurances that they will not appear in the same frames as anyone from the far right. "They realise it could get very embarrassing," says Hans Rauscher, veteran writer for Der Standard newspaper.

The fear gripping the elite shows the extent to which Haider managed to impose himself on Austria's political scene, becoming a figurehead for an array of far-right European groups. Particularly at such a sensitive economic moment, when parallels with 1929 and the great depression are drawn every day, the fear is that the extreme right may seek to exploit the symbolic power of such a gathering. >>> Kate Connolly | October 18, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>

Swiss Politics Gets Dirty
THE GUARDIAN: Christoph Blocher, Switzerland's hardline populist leader, was kicked out of the Swiss government yesterday in a coup that plunged Swiss politics into uncertain territory.

Despite leading his anti-immigrant Swiss People's Party (SVP) to a second general election victory seven weeks ago, Blocher, a billionaire businessman and justice minister in the outgoing government, was caught napping by a deft piece of overnight political manoeuvring by Social Democrats and Christian Democrats who blocked his path to cabinet by persuading a party colleague to stand against him.

The defeat for Blocher changed the rules of a normally staid and predictable political culture, and left his party pledging to go into opposition rather than take part in the coalition government that invariably rules Switzerland.

The defeat was due to political plotting by Social Democrats and Christian Democrats who vowed to oppose Blocher, but not his party, and sprang a surprise by backing one of Blocher's party colleagues for his cabinet seat. Switzerland's far-right leader is kicked out of cabinet >>> By Ian Traynor

BBC:
Far-right leaves Swiss government

NZZ:
Shwerer Gang in die Opposition

RADIO DRS:
Blochers Rede (Audio)

Mark Alexander

Schweizer Ängste
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: 22. Oktober 2007
Die Wahlen in der Schweiz sind in erster Linie mit zwei Themen gewonnen worden: mit Klimapolitik und innerer Sicherheit. Von den Umweltsorgen der Schweizer profitierten die Grünen. Die Eidgenossen wählten hier lieber das Original als die Kopie der Sozialdemokraten. Dessen ungeachtet bleiben Grüne und Sozialdemokraten politisch wesensverwandt. Gewinner in Sachen innere Sicherheit war wieder einmal die rechts außen stehende Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP) unter dem Justizminister und Populismusprofi Christoph Blocher.

Die Enge ihres landwirtschaftlichen und kleingewerblichen Ursprungs in der Deutschschweiz hat die Partei - beziehungsweise ihre Wählerschaft - längst verlassen. In städtischen Gebieten, zum Beispiel in Zürich, ist die SVP stärker denn je, und auch im französischsprachigen Landesteil hat sie noch einmal viele Stimmen hinzugewonnen. Seit 1919 hat keine Partei in der Schweiz eine solche Mehrheit erreicht wie die Volkspartei. Waren früher die Liberalen vom Freisinn die dominierende Kraft, so kommt heute niemand mehr an der SVP vorbei. Schweizer Ängste (mehr) Von Jürgen Dunsch

Mark Alexander

The BBC Leads the Way in Covering the Swiss Election Victory for Christoph Blocher in the UK
BBC: The right-wing Swiss People's Party has won the most votes recorded in a Swiss general election, despite a campaign marred by accusations of racism.

The SVP, already the country's largest party, won 29% of the vote and gained seven seats on the National Council.

"We have reached the highest score ever since this electoral system began," said party leader Ueli Maurer.

The left-of-centre Social Democrats were the biggest losers of Sunday's polls, losing nine seats. Record poll win for Swiss right (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Swiss right wing in poll win

Mark Alexander

Christoph Blocher Victorious in Swiss Election
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss populist Christoph Blocher helped his right-wing People's Party (SVP) to another election win on Sunday by lending his face to the cause.

"Support Blocher! Vote SVP!" read posters plastered around Switzerland in the run-up to the parliamentary election as the party used the 67-year-old's image to mobilize voters.

Focusing on a cabinet minister is rare in Swiss parliamentary election campaigns but the strategy appeared to pay off for the SVP as it scooped 29 percent of the vote.

"Blocher is the leading political figure in Switzerland but using him is still risky," said political analyst Georg Lutz from the University of Bern. "Blocher gets a lot of attention but he also polarizes voters."

Claims that Blocher, who is justice minister in the multi-party cabinet, was also the victim of a 'secret plot' to oust him added to the pre-election intrigue.

A self-made man and fan of Winston Churchill, Blocher is credited with having helped transform the SVP over the last 20 years from a party with mainly rural voters to a more mainstream, conservative-populist grouping.

Along the way, he has won support by campaigning against bogus benefit claimants, foreign criminals, dishonest asylum seekers and demands from Switzerland's EU neighbors. Blocher helps Swiss rightists to another win (more) By Tom Armitage

Mark Alexander

’We Must Tell Muslims We Are a Christian Nation’
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke to right-wing Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocher about his controversial Swiss People's Party, its allegedly xenophobic electoral campaign and the possible Swiss referendum on building minarets.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr Blocher, the entire election campaign (more...) has revolved around you. Everyone is only talking about you -- your supporters and your opponents alike. Swiss politics has never been focused on one person to such an extreme degree.

Christoph Blocher: I do not think that the fact I am taking center stage to such an extent in these elections is a good thing either, but my opponents are responsible for that. They have now been massively attacking my person for four years -- because of my policies. ’We Must Tell Muslims We Are a Christian Nation (more) (Interview with Swiss Justice Minister, Christoph Blocher)

THE GUARDIAN:
Swiss watch

BBC:
Swiss voting for new parliament

DIE WELT:
Erste Hochrechnungen: Rechte SVP gewinnt Schweizer Wahlen

LE FIGARO:
Suisse : la droite populiste sort renforcée des elections

LE MONDE:
La droite populiste conforte son leadership en Suisse

Mark Alexander

Are Tough Leaders Only to be Found in Switzerland?
BBC: The sedate reputation of Swiss politics has been shattered single-handedly by Christoph Blocher.

The billionaire industrialist's right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) is expected to win the most votes in elections on 21 October, rounding off a campaign that the United Nations described as blatantly racist.

The party has depicted Switzerland as a society under siege from immigrants who have scant regard for the country's laws and customs.

Many voters appear to be impressed by the skilled oratory of Mr Blocher, 67, seeing him as the epitome of a stern leader stepping forward to safeguard Swiss values.

Mr Blocher, currently justice minister, was quick to make political capital out of rioting that erupted at an SVP election rally in Bern. Left-wing protesters clashed with police, adding to the unusually edgy atmosphere of this Swiss election.

"It's obvious that the biggest party in Switzerland can no longer go to the federal square," Mr Blocher told a cheering crowd of supporters.

Consensus challenged

The SVP is currently pushing for a law that would give authorities the power to expel entire families of immigrants if one member is found guilty of a violent crime or of an offence such as drug dealing or benefit fraud. Profile: Christoph Blocher

Mark Alexander

Politics Gets Hot in Switzerland Ahead of Next Week’s Election as Demographic Changes Cause Angst
THE GUARDIAN: Christoph Blocher's party is the largest in Switzerland but its noisy broadsides against immigrants and crime have caused deep divisions ahead of next week's elections. Peter Beaumont reports from Bern

'It's not like we're England,' said the old woman sharing a flask of coffee with her middle-aged daughter on the train from Geneva to Zurich. 'They had the colonies, and we didn't,' she adds, to explain the nature of Britain's racial mix and why Switzerland does not need one. Her daughter considers this for a moment. 'I worry,' she says, 'there will be a putsch against him.'

The him in question is Christoph Blocher, the populist and right-wing leader of the Swiss People's party (the UDC): lawyer, industrialist, admirer of Winston Churchill, collector of mawkish Swiss art and, if his opponents and critics are to be believed, a man with leanings towards the fascist fringe of the right.

And a week today, if Swiss pollster GfS has done its work correctly, the Swiss electorate will return his party again as the largest, with 27 per cent of the vote.

Blocher is the man that one newspaper columnist for 24 Heures - with some irony - dubbed last week the 'Lider Maximo' after Fidel Castro, and whom a cabinet colleague once labelled Il Duce. Everywhere Blocher goes, he polarises Swiss society. His posters appear to have been the only ones vandalised during the campaign. In Bern, where anti-Blocher marchers caused a riot last weekend by stopping the UDC marching through the city, his face has been scrawled out or covered with a drawing showing a black sheep urinating into his grinning mouth. Hard right's hero shakes up cosy world of Swiss politics (more)

Audio: Mathias Muller, an official from the Swiss People's Party (the UDC) talks to Peter Beaumont about accusations of a swing to the right

Mark Alexander