Liberalism 1 – 0 Populist Extremism

A welcome referendum result from Switzerland where, in a defeat for the right-wing People’s Party, voters have supported making it easier for immigrants to become Swiss citizens:

People in Switzerland have voted to relax the country’s strict citizenship rules, making it easier for third-generation immigrants to become Swiss.

Being born in Switzerland does not guarantee citizenship. Non-Swiss residents must typically wait 12 years before applying…

The new proposal will exempt third-generation immigrants, who are born in Switzerland and whose parents and grandparents lived permanently in Switzerland, from interviews and tests in the naturalisation process…

The result is a defeat for the right wing Swiss People’s Party … Some opponents had argued that the new proposal could lead to the “Islamisation” of the country. One opposition poster featured a woman in a niqab – although this is a rarity in Switzerland. [BBC]