Far-right politics in Switzerland
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The
World Wars (1914–1945)
Switzerland was one of the least likely countries in Europe to succumb to
The earliest of these was
By 1937 there were effectively three main language-specific groups i.e. the
- The Swiss branch of the NSDAP under Wilhelm Gustloff.
- Bund für Volk und Heimat – a Christian ultra-right group under Rudolf Grob, Samuel Haas and Professor Walter Wili.
- Bund Treuer Eidgenossen Nationalsozialistischer Weltanschauung – a more avowedly pro-Nazi breakaway from the National Front under former leader Nationale Bewegung der Schweizin 1940.
- Eidgenössische Front – an anti-Semitic group ran by Heinrich Eugen Wechlin between 1933 and 1938.
- Eidgenössische Soziale Arbeiter-Partei – a Zurich-based group active from 1936 to 1940 under Ernst Hofmann.
- Faschistischer Bewegung der Schweiz – the movement of Benito Mussolini follower Arthur Fonjallaz. It grew from his previous groups Helvetic Action Against Secret Societies and the Federation Fasciste Suisse.
- Katholische Front and Front der Militanten Katholiken – two pro-Nazi Roman Catholicmovements led by brothers Karl and Fridolin Weder.
- Nationalsozialistische Schweizerische Arbeitspartei – a mimetic Nazi group, also known as the Volksbund, led by Major Ernst Leonhardt.[5]
A number of pro-
Cold War period (1946–1989)
After World War II, far-right politics re-emerged in the guise of
A Liberal Ecologist Party also existed for a time, espousing a far right take on environmentalism that recalled ecofascism.[7]
The end of the war saw the emergence of
From a more
New Right (1990–present)
From the mid-1990s, these remaining fringe parties were mostly absorbed by the expanding Swiss People's Party (SVP), which had initiated a revival of right-wing populism from the late 1980s. The party is mainly considered to be national conservative,[11][12] but it has also been variously identified as "extreme right"[13] and "radical right-wing populist",[14] reflecting a spectrum of ideologies present among its members. In its far right wing, it includes members such as Ulrich Schlüer, Pascal Junod, who heads a 'New Right' study group and has been linked to Holocaust denial and neo-Nazism.[15][16]
The neo-Nazi and white power skinhead scene in Switzerland has seen significant growth in the 1990s and 2000s, growing from an estimated number of 200 active individuals in 1990 to 1,200 in 2005 (or from 0.003% to 0.016% of the total population).[17] This development occurred in parallel with the increasing presence of right-wing populism due to SVP campaigns, and is reflected in the foundation of the
The
Far-right activists briefly won the attention of mainstream media for disrupting the 2005 celebration of the
Bund Oberland, a group associated with the
A minor Swiss National Party was briefly active under the leadership of David Mulas, dissolved in 2003.[23] This group was closely linked to the National Democratic Party of Germany.[15]
The far-right groups further declined in the 2011 federal elections, the Swiss Democrats remaining the largest with 4,838 votes or 0.20% of the total vote, less than half than in 2007.[citation needed] Smaller groups participating in the elections were the Swiss Nationalist Party in Bern and Vaud (1,198 votes, 0.05%) and Eric Weber's Volksaktion in Basel-Stadt (810 votes, 0.03%).[citation needed]
International activism
Switzerland's status as the world centre of neutrality has meant that it has sometimes been important in international links for fascists and neo-Nazis.[citation needed]
Before the Second World War, Switzerland was pivotal in the concept of
See also
- Politics of Switzerland
- Radical right
- Stiftung gegen Rassismus und Antisemitismus
References
- ^ Stanley G. Payne, A History of Fascism 1914-1945, London, Routledge, 2001, p. 291
- ^ Alan Morris Schom, 'A Survey of Nazi and Pro-Nazi Groups in Switzerland: 1930-1945' Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Schom [page needed]
- ^ R. Griffin, The Nature of Fascism, London: Routledge, 1993, p. 129
- ^ Schom, [page needed]
- ^ Griffin, p. 167
- ^ Griffin, p. 171
- ^ G. Harris, The Dark Side of Europe – The Extreme Right Today, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1994
- ^ M.A. Lee, The Beast Reawakens, London: Warner Books, 1998, p. 181
- ^ Griffin, p. 169
- ^ Skenderovic 2009, p. 124: "... and prefers to use terms such as 'national-conservative' or 'conservative-right' in defining the SVP. In particular, 'national-conservative' has gained prominence among the definitions used in Swiss research on the SVP".
- ^ Geden 2006, p. 95.
- ^ P. Ignazi, Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 234
- ^ H-G Betz, 'Xenophobia, Identity Politics and Exclusionary Populism in Western Europe', L. Panitch & C. Leys (eds.), Socialist Register 2003 - Fighting Identities: Race, Religion and Ethno-nationalism, London: Merlin Press, 2002, p. 198
- ^ a b Antisemitism and Racism in Switzerland 2000-1 Archived 2002-04-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Antisemitism and Racism in Switzerland 1999-2000 Archived 2007-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 2006 report on domestic security
- ^ Searchlight, June 2005, p. 30
- ^ 2005 report on domestic security Archived 2008-09-11 at the Wayback Machine, p. 20.
- ^ "Left-wing extremists engaged in more violence than right-wing extremists in Switzerland". Le News. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
- ^ 2006 report on domestic security, p. 20.
- ^ Searchlight, December 2005, p. 22
- ^ "'Nationale Partei Schweiz: David Mulas'". Archived from the original on 2007-09-06. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ Griffin, p. 129
Bibliography
- Geden, Oliver (2006). Diskursstrategien im Rechtspopulismus: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs und Schweizerische Volkspartei zwischen Opposition und Regierungsbeteiligung. VS Verlag. ISBN 978-3-531-15127-4.
- Skenderovic, Damir (2009). The radical right in Switzerland: continuity and change, 1945-2000. Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-84545-580-4.
External links
- reports
- (in German) GRA
- Stephen Roth Institute (2006)
- far right websites
- (in German) Swiss Democrats website
- (in German) Freedom Party website
- (in German) PNOS website Archived 2007-10-31 at the Wayback Machine
- populist websites
- (in German) SVP website
- antifa websites
- (in German) Swiss Antifa