Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party scored one of its best results ever in national elections, reaping the rewards of a campaign that leveraged concerns over immigration.
The SVP — as the party is known by its German acronym — won 28.6% of votes, up from 25.6% four years ago. That’s an even stronger win than anticipated in opinion polls and close to its 2015 record of 29.4%.
The party has been Switzerland’s most popular for two decades, thanks to a focus largely on domestic issues such as immigration and the economy. The SVP wants to limit the country’s population to 10 million people, citing overstretched infrastructure and lack of housing.