SWISS VOTERS have backed a controversial proposal allowing the automatic deportation of non-citizens convicted of crimes.
Some 53 per cent of voters in two-thirds of Swiss cantons supported a proposal by the right-wing People’s Party (SVP); some 46 per cent of voters backed a milder alternative proposal by the political parties.
“The majority of people have made clear that foreigner criminality is a problem for them,” said justice minister Simonetta Sommaruga. She said work would begin immediately on translating yesterday’s vote into law, in particular to “ease conflicts” with the Swiss constitution and international law.
Critics of the proposal point out that, thanks to tough citizenship laws, the new law may lead to the deportation of people who were born and raised in Switzerland.
The list of crimes for automatic expulsion range from murder down to social welfare fraud. SVP leader Toni Brunner called yesterday’s result a “first step on the road to greater security” and called for a draft law to reach cabinet by the spring.
Opposition parties expressed regret that voters rejected their alternative proposal, which would have allowed for case-by-case decisions and greater judicial discretion.
“It’s possible to win elections on the backs of minorities but, in the end, I think it will damage our country,” said socialist leader Christian Levrat. “I certainly don’t see it as a good sign for the future.”
The vote comes a year after a similar result for an SVP initiative to ban minarets on mosques and suggests a rise in an anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe.
Yesterday’s result showed a significant east-west divide: all German-speaking regions, with the exception of Basel, voted in favour while western, French-speaking Swiss cantons including Geneva were opposed. Nearly all cities, where most non-citizens are concentrated, voted against the measure while rural regions backed the move.
Voters rejected by 59 per cent a separate proposal yesterday to introduce a minimum tax of at least 22 per cent for the country’s top earners.