Many Swiss support Blocher ousting
A poll has found that a majority of the population welcomes the ousting of controversial rightwing Justice Minister Christoph Blocher from the cabinet.
In all, almost 60 per cent of Swiss supported last week’s rejection of Blocher in favour of a more moderate Swiss People’s Party colleague, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.
The Isopublic poll, which appeared in Sunday’s media, also revealed that more than half of the public – 56 per cent – judged the People’s Party decision to go into opposition after Blocher’s non-election to be the wrong one. Only 26 per cent were in favour.
The People’s Party received 29 per cent of the vote in last October’s parliamentary elections, making it the most popular party in the country.
However, Blocher’s aggressive style proved his downfall on Wednesday, when parliament did not re-elect him to office, preferring Widmer-Schlumpf instead.
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