Swiss Abroad supporter Lombardi returns to political stage
Filippo Lombardi has long been a vocal supporter of the Organisation for the Swiss Abroad (OSA)
Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller
Filippo Lombardi, vice-president of the Organisation for the Swiss Abroad (OSA), has been elected to the city council of Lugano in southern Switzerland.
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Lombardi, 64, is thus returning to politics almost 18 months after losing his place in the Senate by just 45 votes. For 20 years he had been one of two senators for Italian-speaking canton Ticino.
He has long been a vocal supporter of the OSA, which represents the interests of the so-called Fifth Switzerland, the 800,000 or so Swiss citizens – a tenth of the Swiss population – who live abroad.
For example in 2018 he put forward a motion – rejected by parliament – to give Swiss expats guaranteed access to an account with a major Swiss bank.
Lombardi has also urged the government to adopt a more coherent policy towards the Swiss Abroad, particularly concerning their economic benefits to Switzerland.
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One Swiss citizen in ten lives abroad, but Filippo Lombardi claims little is known of this diaspora and its influence. “We lack an overall view of relations between Swiss expatriates and their country of origin,” says Lombardi, who is due to raise the issue in the Senate on Wednesday. He wants the government to prepare…
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