Pursuits
Swiss Finance Minister’s Seat in Doubt on SVP Election Gains
- Anti-immigrant SVP got biggest vote share in parliament ballot
- Multi-party government to be decided by parliament on Dec. 9
Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
Photographer: Gianluca Colla/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The tenure of Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is hanging in the balance after the anti-immigrant Swiss People’s Party, from which she acrimoniously split nearly a decade ago, increased its share of the vote in Switzerland’s parliamentary election.
The SVP, which has spearheaded referendums to ban construction of mosque minarets and reduce immigration, won a record number of lower house seats in Sunday’s ballot and is claiming the second post in government it lost in 2008 when Widmer-Schlumpf left the party.