The Swiss vote this Sunday, October 22 to renew their Parliament, which will then elect a government. As for more than 20 years, the populist right of the Democratic Union of the Center (UDC) dominates voting intentions. His favorite theme: immigration.
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With our special correspondent in Yverdon-les-Bains, Jeremy Lanche
Fondue. Of white. The Democratic Union of the Center is not afraid of clichés to attract customers and voters to the market. The “freedom party”, as it presents itself, also wants to be the peasants’ party. “ The majority of farmers in the Federal Parliament come from the SVP, because agriculture represents 15% of GDP. But it’s normal that a party which represents more than 30% of the Swiss population is not made up only of peasants », notes Jacques Nicolet, farmer and outgoing UDC deputy.
With 28% voting intentions, 10 points ahead of the Socialist Party, the UDC should once again win the honorary title of leading party in Switzerland. A success to be attributed to a well-established campaign on immigration. “ All the people who are now signing our initiative “Stop a Switzerland with 10 million inhabitants” are not necessarily UDC people, but they are people who realize that when it’s full, it’s is full », continues Jacques Nicolet.
Often cited as an example by European far-right groups, the UDC is nevertheless difficult to classify. “ If we look at the issue of migrants, it is difficult to say that it is a center-right party. On the other hand, when we observe the compromises that the party weaves, it is more complicated », analyzes Oscar Mazzoleni, political scientist at the University of Lausanne. Because in Switzerland, government solidarity prevails over party positions. The UDC Minister of the Environment thus had to defend the climate law, attacked in a referendum by his party.