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Anti-German sentiment could resurface

The Swiss ambassador to Germany has warned latent anti-German sentiment amongst the Swiss could flare up.

This content was published on April 27, 2011 minutes
swissinfo.ch and agencies

Writing in the edition of the German weekly Die Zeit to appear on Thursday, Tim Guldimann called for a serious political discussion of the question of German immigration to Switzerland.

“Today, there are some 270,000 Germans living in Switzerland and immigration is continuing,” Guldimann wrote.

He pointed to Swiss frustration with restrictions imposed by Germany which affect flights coming in to Zurich airport and anger that Germany was using banking data stolen in Switzerland to track down suspected tax evaders as reasons for resentment.

But he also said the Swiss, particularly in the German-speaking part of the country, feel a sense of inferiority in relation to their larger northern neighbour.

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