President Ogi (left) has expressed his concerns about extremism within the right-wing People's Party to its head , Ueli Maurer (right)
(Keystone)
The Swiss president, Adolf Ogi, has demanded his party, the People's Party, decisively distance itself from right-wing extremism. In a letter to the party's president, Ueli Maurer, Ogi urged the leadership to clarify their position in "precise terms".
The president and minister of defence, Ogi, asked the right-wing People's Party to act decisively against all forms of racism emerging within the core of the party.
Ogi recalled the proposal to monitor the party members in order to identify extremists.
Last Friday, Ogi criticised his party. In the light of the defeat of the party's initiative to limit the number of foreigners in the country to 18 per cent, Ogi said: "The party of the people need to start asking themselves whether they still represent the will of the people."
On Thursday, the House of Representatives is due to debate right-wing extremism in Switzerland.
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