Swiss right-wing party tops polls

"ZURICH, Switzerland (Reuters) -- The Swiss right wing raced ahead in parliamentary elections on Sunday, winning votes on an anti-immigrant platform, and threatening to unsettle its coalition colleagues with a make-or-break bid for more power."

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"The SVP campaigns on a "closed borders" platform, shunning closer ties with Switzerland's European Union neighbors and playing on voters' fears over immigration and asylum."

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"According to an initial projection, the anti-European Union SVP gained 4.7 percentage points to take 27.2 percent while the SP gained 0.8 percentage points to 23.3 percent. The liberal Free Democrats (FDP) were seen at 16.8 and the Christian Democrats (CVP) took 14.3 percent."

More at http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/19/swiss.election.reut/index.html

I think the Swiss election results are an example of an accelerating right-wing trend in Europe. Of course, many of these populist parties rail against international corporations and globalization so they are quite unlike US republicans in economic matters. A lot of the support comes from working class people disappointed by the abandonment of traditional labor issues and adoption of neo-liberal economics by social democratic parties.