Swiss reject expulsions

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33671, 22 October 1974, Page 17

Swiss reject expulsions

• A Z P A.-Reuter—Copyright ’ GENEVA. October 21. The Swiss people, who have overwhelming!} rejected a move to expel haif-a-million foreigners over the next three years, still face the prospect of another vote on the question of drastically reducing the country’s alien population. Less than an hour after news of the crushing defeat by 1,689.879 votes to 878.739 —of the tiny Right-wing National Action Party's effort to send half the foreign population packing, Mr James Schwarzenbach. a conservative politician, said that he would press ahead with a similar public initiative.

Mr Schwarzenbach headed the National Action Party when, in 1970. it sponsored a move to expel just over 300,000 foreigners — defeated by only 97,327 votes He later split with the organisation and formed his own party, the Republican Movement. The Republican* have already lodged notice of another referendum and have presented the required 50.000 signatures to Parliament. They. too. want the number of foreigners cut by half a million, but spread over 10 years. The National Action, which has only four members in the 200-seat Swiss Parliament, had demanded that the number of foreigners in the country, at present about 1,100,000 in a total population of 6,400,000, should be limited to 500,000 by the end of 1977. It said that such a cut was necessary because Switzerland was becoming too crowded and over-industrial-ised, and accused foreigners of not integrating into Swiss societv and of taking jobs and accommodation from the ' indigenous population. President Ernst Brugger, who led resolute Government opposition to the proposals, said last night that the Cabinet would continued previously announced i measures to stabilise the I foreign population by the end ■of the decade. The Government, criticised by some in Parliament for not having acted more effectively to curb the rising number of foreigners, this year reduced the number of new work permits issued to aliens. The Italian Government must have felt as -relieved about yesterday’s result as the foreigners themselves. If the initiative had succeeded, 300,000 Italians would have had to leave Switzerland in the next three years.