Excerpt:
Aleksander, Naveen, Anastasia, Shanky and Shahid: their names or skin colour betray their origins. What they have in common, however, is their allegiance to a party reputed to be the most hostile to foreigners in Switzerland.
"We've got nothing against foreigners – we welcome them with open arms!"
This catchphrase, repeated over and over at the People's Party's small grassroots gatherings, might look like a slogan, but the growing infatuation of secondos – children of immigrants – and other young foreigners for a party that is otherwise typically agrarian is very real.
"We don't have statistics, but it's a very real phenomenon," said Silvia Bär, a political scientist and member of the party's central staff in Zurich.