The people have the sovereign right to define make-up of their society.
A return of the quota system, along with proof that you can take care of yourself without public assistance, should be made a mandatory policy and instituted throughout the west, not just in Switzerland.
Immigration vote triggers political mud fight
by Urs Geiser, swissinfo.ch
Queuing up to get to the speaker’s podium or to exchange verbal blows with political opponents (Keystone)
Allegations, demands, proposals and questions – a heated debate in parliament about immigration quotas has shown the impact the ballot box decision is having on political parties nearly six weeks after Swiss voters approved limiting the number of foreigners.
Some parliamentarians did not mince their words during Thursday’s televised debate from the House of Representatives.
Toni Brunner, president of the rightwing Swiss People’s Party, which had championed the immigration quotas, accused the government of trying to ignore his party, of dragging its feet and shirking from taking urgent measures to push through the immigration curbs.
Some of his party colleagues slammed opponents as “hypocrites” and the government of “bootlicking in Brussels”.
But the other parties obviously did not want to miss the televised opportunity to heap criticism on the People’s Party for jeopardising the vital relations between Switzerland and the European Union.
Andy Tschümperli, senior member of the centre-left Social Democratic Party, saw the whole package of bilateral treaties at risk. “Switzerland is not an island,” he said.
