Europe Slowly Turns Conservative as Anti-Immigrant Party Wins Swiss Election

Once the liberal bastion of the world, it appears that Europe’s political discourse is slowly shifting to the right. As Middle-Eastern refugees continue to flood into the continent, more Europeans are beginning to view the migrants as a threat to their culture, and are increasingly turning to nationalist movements for solutions.

This is especially true for Switzerland, where the anti-immigration Swiss People’s Party, won the largest share of seats in the national parliamentary election over the weekend. The SVP exceeded expectations by winning 29.5% of the vote, which added 11 seats for the party. They now hold 65 of the parliament’s 200 seats, which is the most any party has held in nearly a century. The Liberal Party (which contrary to its name, is actually a center-right pro-business party) managed to gain 3 more seats.

Meanwhile in Germany, the anti-immigrant movement known as PEGIDA celebrated the one year anniversary of their founding today, by rallying thousands of protesters in Dresden, as well as several smaller protests across the country. The first PEGIDA rally was only attended by several hundred people, but now the movement has grown to over 17,000. As nationalist ideologies gain more popularity in Europe every year, one must wonder if these sentiments will ultimately threaten the stability of the European Union.