Swiss Democrats
Founded in 1971 under the name of National Action for People and Country, this party was most prominent in the late 1970s, when the initiative promoted by its parliamentarian James Schwarzenbach against the influx of foreigners was rejected by a small majority of voters. Since the early 1990s, when the Swiss People’s Party adopted some of the Swiss Democrats’ key policies, including restrictions on foreigners and “no” to greater openness to the European Union, the party’s electoral base has shrunk. It now has just one representative in the federal parliament.
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