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It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration controls

ChezC3

ChezC3

Relentless Thinking Fury
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On Friday the two houses of parliament took a final vote on the subject, the detail of which was agreed earlier this week, confirming the country would not be imposing quotas on immigration from the EU as voted for by the public in the ‘against mass immigration’ referendum in 2014.

Instead, unwilling to upset the country’s relationship with the EU, MPs have agreed a ‘light’ solution that will see unemployed domestic workers given preference over EU nationals for jobs in Switzerland.

....

The ‘light’ solution is a capitulation to pressure from the EU and violates the Swiss constitution, ATS reported the SVP’s Adrian Amstutz as saying.
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It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration controls - The Local

Wow! :shock:

Nothing like having the People's voice be heard and then give them a big old **** YOU for their trouble...
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

RetiredUSN said:
More proof that liberalism is just word for tyranny.

It happens every time they are left in control for too long.
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It's part of their "We know best" arrogance DNA.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

RetiredUSN said:
More proof that liberalism is just word for tyranny.

It happens every time they are left in control for too long.
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Those liberal Swiss conservatives!
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

Manc Skipper said:
Those liberal Swiss conservatives!
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Yea LOL the country is run by the right wing.. what does the right know about democracy and will of the voters.. especially the American right.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

Its not a surprise, the Swiss have knuckled under when they sacrificed their bank secrecy laws awhile back.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

RetiredUSN said:
By your definition of conservative.
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Your definition is not the norm.

300px-Swiss_party_politics_2007_en.png

The Conservative SVP is the party in power. That's them in the traditional conservative/market forces corner. I'm guessing you must be off the chart.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

PeteEU said:
Yea LOL the country is run by the right wing.. what does the right know about democracy and will of the voters.. especially the American right.
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The European right is more comparable to a modern pajama boy liberal.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

ChezC3 said:
It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration controls - The Local

Wow! :shock:

Nothing like having the People's voice be heard and then give them a big old **** YOU for their trouble...
Click to expand...

That certainly did shake the understanding of what Switzerland is about up somewhat. This is the first time I have heard that that country did not act on a referendum. Unlike the referendum on Brexit, I thought that Swiss referenda were binding. In the linked text it says:
"But diverging so far from a constitutionally-binding referendum provoked an outcry among many in politics and the Swiss press when the idea was first suggested."

If that is true, we are seeing further slippage away from constitutional rule and rule of law in Europe and the EU. It should make us and the European citizens nervous.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

ChezC3 said:
It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration controls - The Local

Wow! :shock:

Nothing like having the People's voice be heard and then give them a big old **** YOU for their trouble...
Click to expand...

Meh. Switzerland has never exactly been on the cutting edge in terms of morals. All those stories about Swiss banks refusing to return money deposited by Holocaust survivors and all that.

The Sinister Face Of 'Neutrality' | FRONTLINE | PBS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Jewish_Congress_lawsuit_against_Swiss_banks

Israelis to sue Swiss banks for refusing to return money deposited during Holocaust - Haaretz - Israel News | Haaretz.com
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

PoS said:
Its not a surprise, the Swiss have knuckled under when they sacrificed their bank secrecy laws awhile back.
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Did they act against the decision of a referendum? I cannot actually remember that happening before. As far as I know, doing so goes right to the heart of Swiss constitutional law.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

Tigerace117 said:
Meh. Switzerland has never exactly been on the cutting edge in terms of morals. All those stories about Swiss banks refusing to return money deposited by Holocaust survivors and all that.

The Sinister Face Of 'Neutrality' | FRONTLINE | PBS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Jewish_Congress_lawsuit_against_Swiss_banks

Israelis to sue Swiss banks for refusing to return money deposited during Holocaust - Haaretz - Israel News | Haaretz.com
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This has less to do with morals than with constitutional law and the effect it might have politically to see the government act against a binding referendum at least in the sense of the thing. It is much graver than should the UK Parliament vote down Brexit, as that referendum was never meant to be legally binding nor does the UK have a political culture and constitution built on referendums.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

RetiredUSN said:
The European right is more comparable to a modern pajama boy liberal.
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The European pajama boy liberal right produced Hitler. Where does that leave the macho supermen of the far Murkan right?
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

Direct democracy is stupid anyhow.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

ChezC3 said:
It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration controls - The Local

Wow! :shock:

Nothing like having the People's voice be heard and then give them a big old **** YOU for their trouble...
Click to expand...

Luckily, our founders understood how dangerous referendums and direct democracy were and wisely placed as much distance as possible between the people and the exercise of power. Representative democracy is superior because it balances the need for the People to be heard with the prudence of channeling their desires through more responsible surrogates. If the Swiss public is outraged they can vote out their representatives.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

Some data to cast a light on the issue...

2014 inflow of foreign immigrants per country:
* Swiss: 1.6% of the population (in a mere year). 25% of the population is foreign.
* Germany: 0.9%
* UK: 0.9%
* Canada: 0.8%
* France: 0.3%
* USA: 0.3%

By 2000, Germany and the UK were still at 0.3% a year. Regarding Swiss, UK and Germany, most of their immigration is European-born (with a recent refugees peak for Germany), mostly poor Eastern European countries. Maybe this will help you understand the political dynamics surrounding the UKIP, AfD and the Swiss votations against immigration.

Both Swiss and the UK rightfully resent the EU for imposing them its emigrants in exchange for trade agreements. A modern form of colonialism.


As for France our immigration peak is behind us but they are mostly Muslims. We have the largest population of Muslims, with 8% of the population. 5% in UK and Germany, 3% in Canada and 2% in the USA. A third of the youth in Paris' region is Muslim.
 
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Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

Switzerland is such a weirdo country.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

Manc Skipper said:
Your definition is not the norm.

300px-Swiss_party_politics_2007_en.png

The Conservative SVP is the party in power. That's them in the traditional conservative/market forces corner. I'm guessing you must be off the chart.
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The SVP really isn't the "party in power".

They hold only 10% of the seats in the Council of States and 32.5% of the seats in the National Council.

Even if, as appears to be the case here, every member of the SVP votes against a particular measure the various other parties in aggregate still hold enough seats to outvote them.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

Things are getting tough in Switzerland at the moment and 2000 UBS workers are likely to lose their jobs as continuing financial penalties after it was fined by US authorities in the early 2000's.

There will be further job losses in other parts of the Swiss economy and pressure from migration by non Swiss workers will force this issue.Then again, I don't see the EU agreeing the "lite" version of the policy the Parliament have approved.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

Manc Skipper said:
Those liberal Swiss conservatives!
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You're under the impression that only American politicians can be hypocritical?
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

PirateMk1 said:
I believe there may be a constitutional crisis in the making. I wonder who will win it.
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That's what I was thinking. Admittedly I don't have an in-depth knowledge of the Swiss political process, so I'm not sure what recourse the people have.


if I know anything it's someone is profiting handsomely from it, you can be sure of it.
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

Sherman123 said:
Luckily, our founders understood how dangerous referendums and direct democracy were and wisely placed as much distance as possible between the people and the exercise of power. Representative democracy is superior because it balances the need for the People to be heard with the prudence of channeling their desires through more responsible surrogates. If the Swiss public is outraged they can vote out their representatives.
Click to expand...

I don't know how prudent or responsible our surrogates are but I think the bigger problem here is that if you allow for a referendum and even if it's just precedent that makes it binding you have to allow the decision to stand. To not do so exposes the entire process as a sham...
 
Re: It's official: Switzerland defies referendum and won't impose EU immigration cont

ChezC3 said:
That's what I was thinking. Admittedly I don't have an in-depth knowledge of the Swiss political process, so I'm not sure what recourse the people have.


if I know anything it's someone is profiting handsomely from it, you can be sure of it.
Click to expand...

Follow the money.
 
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