[Culturechat] Herr Blocher and his ideas

[Vance Roy]

Some of you have read things about Herr Blocher here in the past. A few 
days ago, a friend sent me a link to a New York Times article about this 
man. I found it interesting especially right now, when the country is 
going to vote on UN membership Sunday, 3 March.

I have a hard time comparing Herr B to any American politician in recent 
years. He sort of makes Barry Goldwater look a bit pink. I suppose Joe 
McCarthy might be close.

Herr B works a lot like all politicians but with a twist. He appeals to 
the basic fears of a lot of people who are not very sophisticated in 
politics. The fact that he is a billionaire makes it simple to do this. 
It isn't unusual for every household in the country to get one of his 
blurbs in their post box.

He is basically an isolationist as far as CH is concerned. He appeals to 
the common man and his fears of job loss, foreign intervention, and 
mixing of people and their cultures. He tries to appear as one of 
them. His political party is The Swiss People's Party. He practically 
runs this with a few men as his mouthpieces. It is a far right party 
with power in the eastern and northern regions but more recently with 
growing branches in central and western CH.

His opposition to the UN membership of CH is vehement. Ads use themes 
such as "Membership will result in big money for the diplomats but no CH 
representation, loss of CH neutrality, the UN dictating Swiss policy 
matters, etc." A lot of this was used in his battle against the Swiss 
joining the European Union. It seems that whenever a general consensus 
on a matter is reached, the SVP and Blocher can be counted on to oppose 
it. He is basically a senator in the CH parliament and will likely be no 
more ever. He would love to be a Federal Councilor, but his radical 
views and his ethic would never allow him to be part of a coalition.

I think he can be best described as a "Swiss snob". He feels that CH is 
a special case in the world. Sometimes his party's election successes 
have been frightening to others. In times of trouble and economic 
downturn, he comes across as being, "I told you so" right. Sometimes, 
when one for instance, reads that 70% of jailed inmates in CH are not 
from CH, he gets a lot of attention to his views against foreigners here.

He and Joerg Haider in Austria have been compared, and I can see why. 
They may not be another such as Adolf Hitler, but they could become such 
as he was, with some moderation. The Swiss don't believe this, but they 
do admit he is an extremist in his views. Still, even then, the Swiss 
liberalism shines through when they say he is not wrong on every point. 
I'll give him that too.

I found myself in agreement at times, especially when the world seemed 
about to gang up on the Swiss (while ignoring the significant 
"contributions" of the French, Swedish, USA, and others) for their 
handling of Nazi refugees, the holocaust, and the nazi gold. That fact 
alone probably accounted for the significant gains in his party's 
efforts in the last elections.

I think it fair to say that if Mr.Blocher had his way, the Swiss would 
be back as they were over a hundred years ago. Neutral, no foreign 
entanglements, no national airline, no progress of any sort, and a 
country where there was still a majority of cow farmers and milk maids. 
The youth of CH won't stand for this. The older people who are prey to 
fears are becoming a smaller group. He says the opposition to him is due 
to "Crony Capitalism". This man is a big time capitalist with a net 
worth of about 1.5 billion US$, but he likes to keep that part out of 
the spotlight.

Did you know that a young person in CH (or a person of any age) is free 
to go into an EU country for study only? They may not ever have a job in 
those countries. This just won't fly for much longer.

Still, I suppose there is no more a loyal opposition than Blocher and 
his party. I often think and wonder, if the USA had a vote today on UN 
membership, how close would it be?

Sunday evening, we will know what the CH folks think.

Vance Roy
gigli.saw@dplanet.ch.