SVP launches a 2nd initiative on expulsion after 500 delegates in Gossau agreed. They will start the signature campaign in Januaury 2012.
( Swissinfo DE )

about "the signature campaign" - do they actually have to be able to write or is a fingerprint good enough?

Read the article, but what does this mean to the average EU wage slave working for a multi-national in Swtizerland? I noticed the "Jetzt is Genug" addition to the posters and wondered what was coming next. I figure they can't seriously be considering tossing out all the foreigners since, let's face it, the vast amount of wealth in the country isn't from cows, cheese and cuckoo clocks. What is the goal with this initiative? Just curious.

I might also add some amusement that the SVP clearly doesn't have a very sophisticated campaign as why would they send a campaign leaflet, in an envelope to my house when we very obviously have foreign names. I laughed, of course, and put it out with the recycling but it makes me wonder what their goals are.

don't we all...don't we all...

Well, I guess the people who deliver this kind of leaflets are the same who'd deliver the leaflets for the newly open pizzeria across your street. They have the goal to drop them in every Briefkasten. No mystery here, as far as I am concerned. What, have you expected SVP not to hurt your feelings? They know it could be those whom they aimed their campaign at who might get the leaflets and such, but simply don't care, on the contrary, they know it intimidates. Two rabbits with only a bullet.

This initiative isn't designed to kick out every foreigner. Basically it is designed to deport those foreigners who have committed a criminal act. How serious a criminal act, is to me unclear but i presume its left to the discretion of a judge. The US also kicks out foreigners who commit crimes, a recent example being an African man who claimed his son was killed on 9/11 and defrauded the government/insurance out of a large sum of money.

I also get all kinds of political letters in the mail from all parties. Its not unusual, the privacy laws here are more strict so the political parties have a harder time knowing your political leanings so they just send to everyone.

Sometimes I really wonder if you use your brain before posting stuff like this poptart... do you really think they have their own distribution network schooled in the art of filtering out foreign names? Because foreign names such as Bortoluzzi, Tueno, Naumovic, Zanetti, and yes Ahadov, and others..are all SVP members!

A third of new members at SVP Berne are foreigners, the total is around 9%.
I know you don't know much about Swiss politics despite your incessant ranting about it... and you don't speak any of the national languages as far as I know, but I'm sure you'll manage to translate this article via google translate:

http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/schweiz/...story/21323499

The message of this gentleman from Azerbaidjan is quite simple: ordinary, hard-working people who fled their country out of genuine reasons profit from the expulsion of criminal foreigners, and suffer from the bad image they give him.

Increasingly, also young foreigners or secondos join the SVP, who welcome their support:

http://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/politik_...ml?cid=8575940

I don't know you personally but having to read your uninformed and ignorant nonsense all the time kind of bugged me.

Well, since everyone talks about how efficient it is here and that all of the foreigners are registered and known to every town and Canton, it didn't seem to be a stretch to figure that someone in the campaign would have access to technology to a) save money and b) not waste any more paper than necessary. It's not rocket science.

And, yes, I do read and speak German just fine.

You know, why the hyperbole about 'my incessant ranting'? Maybe you have me confused with someone else. But, really, the nasty personal bullying that goes on here is far worse than the Local's T&C. I asked a simple question. You could have just ignored it...just like I ignored "the US does..." response in the post above yours.

Simon CH....do you need a hug?

Your tone here is rather aggressive and bullying:

"...you don't speak any of the national languages as far as I know" and

"I really wonder if you use your brain"

What's up with that, dude?

This hardly seems necessary and contributes little to rational discourse.

Can't remember the name of the first book I read in English, about an Italian immigrant family in the US, who really resents the next wave of arrivals from 'back home' upsetting their newly acquired status. Can anybody remind me, please (i'd like to re-read it).

The Front National supporters in France were the first to highlight to me that a lot of their supporters are 2nd, 3rd or even 4th generation immigrants - and often more virulent than their 'French French' accolades. A lot of my neighbours here have foreign sounding names from originating in Poland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc - so it would be very difficult for the UDC/SVP to decide who to post to or not (and anyway as said above leaflets are delivered by paid people most of the time, not the UDC members).

yes.
no.

I think I've read the book you're referring to. I'll edit this post if I remember/find the name in my outboard brain.

Pasting a town with leaflets is one thing, sending a 4-colour brochure in an envelope with postage via the post costs real money so I was curious that clearly they aren't generating their mailing labels from the eligible voter lists which should be pretty easy to do. The bit about the last name was just because my husband's last name is so far off the register that it's not possible to be misconstrued as native. That and I was impressed they spelled it right...which means they got it from either town or the auslander register. It piqued my curiosity as to why they either wouldn't target their mailing a bit more specifically or just do the usual post box pasting. That's all.

I see - so not a random leaflet. Yes I remember that dreadful booklet sent in the post. Agreed I would have thought it would have been sent only to those on the electoral register (like myself)- but remember that there are many naturalised Swiss from all corners of the world. My OH's British surname, and therefore my own, is very unusual, even in the UK- but I'm still Swis and he (naturalised) Swiss.

Interesting. My thought was the same with regard to that brochure/booklet but, clearly, since we've not been here that long that their mailing list must be rather askew somehow. We're clearly not in the eligible voter ranks. (I might also add that I kept my surname since it's hard to order take-away with his name outside of his country and it was addressed to both of us...both properly spelled, further heightening my curiosity.)

A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller? It's a play, but the story seems similar to what you describe.

That is the one thanks. Will buy it when next in the UK.

Well some of us - myself included - are just glad that the registration information and all personal data STAYS WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT and is not just sold off to political parties!!! Bad enough we all have to register in the first place.

Oh and I also belong to the not insignificant part of the Swiss population who sends their pre-paid envelopes back every time - without signing any of their silly initiatives of course. That way they can pay postage twice for no benefit whatsoever...

We'll you're not the only one - there are many of us wondering the same! However, the answer is simpler than it seems. Because of the very frequent referenda and elections in this rather unique system in this country, voter turnout is often rather low - especially if matters are perceived as "not-so-important". Often only about 50% of the eligible population actually goes to the polls. So more often than not, the trick to win an election or a referendum is not so much to convince all the non-believers of your opinion but much rather convince enough of your followers that this is critical and they HAVE TO vote on polling day. SVP is by far the most successful in mobilising their followers. I think its estimated that ~90% of their "potential target group" actually votes for them. For the greens this figure is around 30%.

So the aggressive talk on all the foreigners left, right and centre has often less to do with actual policy and more with mobilising their voters. In fact many SVP heavyweights (Blocher, Spuhler etc.) have publically spoken out AGAINST their new expulsion initiative.

I wonder where else they would have gotten our names and address then as I don't have any of the grocery cards or credit cards here and we have separate bank accounts. The only place our names appear together and properly spelled is with the government as far as I know.

And I didn't realize you could just mail them back. I'll do that next time.

Do you have a listed phone number?