Bern - The far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) gained 15 seats and took second place in Sunday's general elections, final results showed yesterday. Earlier indications had shown the party, which has been accused of neo-Nazi leanings and espouses anti-immigrant rhetoric, in first place.
The final result gave the SVP 44 seats in the House of Representatives, while the Social Democrats remained the strongest party with 51 seats, a loss of three from the 1995 election result.
The Radical Party (FDP) slipped two seats to 43. The Christian Democrats (35 seats) and the Greens (nine) each gained a seat.