With its ‘No to 10 million’ initiative, the far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP) seeks to cap immigration from the European Union. But one of the party’s leaders actually recruits foreign employees for her company.
Magdalena Martullo-Blocher is not only one of the SVP’s vice-presidents, but also the daughter of the party’s idealogical founder, Christoph Blocher.
She is also the head of the company originally founded by her father – EMS Chemie, a big chemical firm based in Graubünden.
Martullo-Blocher inherited not only the family business from her father, but also his affinity for populist politics – she is one of SVP’s vice-presidents but also a deputy in the National Council.
As such, she promotes the SVP’s party line in the Parliament – including its opposition to closer ties between Bern and Brussels, as well as the SVP’s bid to restrict the right of EU workers to work in Switzerland.
In fact, during various speeches she had given during the pro-initiative campaign, she had stressed the importance of having a better control of immigrants pouring into Switzerland.
All that is well and good, except that some of Martullo-Blocher’s actions are contrary to the spirit of her party’s ‘No to 10 million’ initiative, and the SVP’s overall anti-immigration stance.
READ MORE: What exactly does the Swiss ‘no to 10 million’ anti-immigration proposal aim to do?
Saying one thing, but doing something else
The premise of the initiative, which will be voted on in a national referendum on June 14th, is that in order to prevent Switzerland’s population growth, the influx of workers from EU and EFTA states (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) must be stemmed.
This measure is imperative, the SVP says, to protect Switzerland’s economy and society in general from too many immigrants.
However, while Martullo-Blocher promotes this idea, in practice, her company recruits employees from the European Union and thus benefits from the free movement of people agreement – the very principles she and her party are against.
Not a credible voice
As Swiss media reported, many politicians are therefore wondering whether – given that Martullo-Blocher’s words contradict her actions – “she is really the right person to publicly advocate for immigration restrictions?”
National Councillor Jon Pult claimed there were reasons why Martullo-Blocher has not been involved in her party’s campaign.
“Martullo-Blocher and her party know that she would not be a credible voice for the 10 million initiative. That is why Martullo-Blocher is not involved in the campaign,” he said.
