The SVP dramatically lost in the elections for the "Council of the States" (Ständerat / Senate) in both Bern and Ticino. In Bern, a prominent SVP member, Mr Amstutz, was toppled out of the Senate, in favour of one of the BDP and one Social Democrat, while the Ticinesi voted for the centre, with one seat for the CVP and one for the FDP, while the Social Democrat there narrowly failed. I hope that even Ayatollah Blocher will fail next weekend, so that only Tony Brunner in St. Gallen may be successful. But it already now is a clear blow for the over-confident SVP who had called for a "storm on the Ständerat" and now at best is in the same form as before or even weaker.

Well deserved fail for Adrian Amstutz. He was a very harsh critic of the BDP and poetic justice that he should lose to the BDP.

I get the impression that the SVP "hawks" are losing their popularity versus milder people in the middle ground.
The SVP really need positive policies if they want to succeed; constant criticism of other parties & negative policies about foreigners is not seen by the people as solving the real issues of today.

He looked like a 'very very nice man' on the posters - maybe he works for the TCS? Glad the voters were not taken in by his pretty face and smile.

With TCS you got if fairly close as Mr Amstutz is president of ASTAG, the association of Swiss trucking companies

Tee hee.
I most DEFINITELY didn't vote for Mr 'geniality' Amstutz. Yukko.

My personal forecast is that Ayatollah Blocher will get less votes this time because many people blame him for losing 10% of the SVP voters in the last election.

Looking at the SVP campaigns in a simple way (as the SVP themselves like to do) they have been quite unsuccessful at achieving their goals; other than increasing their share of the vote which now seems to be reversing.

I mean that circa 20 years ago the SVP started their anti-foreigners campaign & and now after 20 years of poster campaigns, referendums & elections the SVP are still blaming foreigners. So the SVP themselves admit they have failed to make any improvements.
If I was anti-foreigner I would want to vote for a party that has credibility in this area; not a party that made no progress in 20 years.

Well put, Marton.
The people have spoken. Halleluja.

I would go even further than that and say that its 99% certain that they lost seats in the Staenderat. From the 7 seats (out of 46) they held before the elections they only managed to confirm 4 in the first round of voting (SZ, SH, TG, GL) and other than Brunner in SG, I really dont see where else they could possibly get a seat from! To me it seems clear that they've lost significantly in the upper house.

Almost more interestingly is that all their 'hardliners' (Blocher, Amstutz, Baader, Giezendanger) got little to no votes outside their own party basis, while the only people who got elected where quite moderate, leaning towards the centre guys (Germann, Jenny). Keeping in mind that each canton gets two seats in the upper house, so its critical that candidates can obtain votes from outside their own party in order to get towards the required 50%. To me that sais that with the line they are currently persueing, SVP are unable to score anymore than 30%, im some areas maybe 35% of the votes - but it doesnt ever seem to be enough to get an outright majority.

Remember the headlines last April?
"Blocher, Baader, Brunner: SVP will den Ständerat stürmen"
or "Blocher, Baader, Brunner: SVP want to storm the Senate"

I guess the storm blew out? Baader was already blown away.

There are only 5 places left where SVP are standing for the Senate & as was said; probably only Brunner stands a chance of winning.

There was a bit in the Tägi this morning (disappeared from the website) that suggested SG could go SP.

Yes, I think people are extrapolating from the Bern result. Bit optimistic probably but the question is what happens in the second vote to the 101,181 votes that went to the sucessful FDP-Lib candidate.

SRF are also forecasting that SG could go SP.

I had a brief converstation with someone who said that the feeling was that the SVP was not saying anything useful, rather pushing populist statements that they could not say how they would enforce or what the consequences would be. That, with the confusion in their own ranks, cost votes.

Mr Amstutz is contradictory in himself. He is chief of ASTAG, the union of the trucking companies of Switzerland, and as such apparently does a good job. He while being a so-called SVP-hardliner is also "a nice face" of his party. He and/or Mr Giezendanner might be quite good Bundesräte, in spite of their hardliner-image. Both in reality over the past few years have shown a remarkable sense of realism and a sense for compromise.

That the middle ground gets weight again is good. Look at the latest interviews of Toni Brunner in St. Gallen who already now sounds like a "mellowed version" of himself

Toni Brunner meets a very strong opponent in the person of Mr Rechsteiner. That man is not permanently smiling but is talking about realities. He sometimes shows to be the leftist he is but may convince the rather "dry" St. Galler to be rather "the choice" than that permanently smiling "youngish noble farmer" Tony Brunner

Somebody put a post card with his picture in my letter box, which clearly states "No advertising" (A mute point whether political canvassing is advertising)

I took the post card, punched out his eyes with a leather hole puncher, and posted it back to him, naturally without a stamp.

Around here, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing his bl**dy face. Placards. Talk about overkill!!
I actually think this put a lot of people off. Thankfully.

Interesting.
Today in Tages Anzeiger the Bern SVP-President Rudolf Joder blamed the national Campaign against Masseneinwanderung for the poor SVP election results in Bern.

Didn't you mean he said this?

Ah yes......Amstutz and Giezendanner....the smiling faces of traditional Swiss values...like driving big lorries through the beautiful Swiss countryside and employing lots of those Einwanderers to do it......

...just wondering why e.g. Giezendanner and Blocher have removed the SVP logo on their Ständerat Campaign posters......