The British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce (BSCC) has spoken out against the Swiss National Party's (SVP) poster-campaingn calling it 'clearly racist, xenophobic and having the objective of spreading hate' ("klar rassistisch, fremdenfeidlich und darauf aus, Hass zu schueren," BAZ, 25 August 2007)The overhead criticism of the poster campaign is much wider: rough politics is bad for business. Its causing distress among 'non-white' employees of the BSCC in Switzerland. Even more to the point, one employee asked, is Switzerland where Germany was before the war?
The SVP (or the SWISS?) should remove the posters, says the BSCC because it is damaging for Switzerland's international business image, an, to this very day, almost impeccable image of high-standards and practice.
In an interview with the BAZ, BSCC's Basel chief, Tim Whiteman said that he was 'ashamed' for having to be associated with the poster at the upcoming international trade conferences to be held in Basel in September.
Yes, as I said in my previous post, Switzerland has profited from globalisation and especially international trade and Basel's local trade commissions, politicians and pressure groups are finally taking a stance and disassociating with a rampant SVP. I hope we will be getting word from the people in this country who vote, that they think the same and vote out this party and its disgusting politics.
'Just think of all the foreigners at the Novartis campus', says a local trade-commission director. Think of all the working, taxpaying and lawabiding foreigners that support the Swiss pension system, enrich and enliven the cultural landscape and are proud ex-pats.
The SVP's campaign is an oversimplified, blanket expression of what Swiss people think which just isn't true and I'm glad to see the outspoken local elites ripping up the campaign as the SVP refuse to remove it.
Someone has to remove it come September when the eyes of the world trade community will be gazing upon Basel. I was born in Switzerland as a foreigner and I don't want to see Switzerland's and especially Basel's international reputation ruined in one swoop with a 'comical' SVP-poster campaign: it's not funny, take them down.
(P.S. NOTE on image, taken from the BAZ. It has the caption: "Provoked: The SVP-poster has aggravated the foreign workforce in Basel" - excuse me? You don't even know who ripped up the poster - you're making it look like the foreigners are 'aggressive' and 'provoked' and this could have been done by Swiss for all we know! - BAZ that's poor journalism, once again, you disappoint me.)
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