In many of Switzerland’s communities, you can see, alongside billboards urging voters to say ‘yes’ to the immigration-capping bid, a photo of the US President Donald Trump gracing a poster of his own.
The posters, portraying a smiling Trump with a profile of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin in the background, were put up by the ‘No to Chaos Initiative’ alliance’ – opponents of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) ‘No to 10 million’ proposal, which is aimed at capping the population by curbing immigration from the European Union.
The Alliance consists of a coalition of left, centre, and centre-right parties, including the Social Democrats, Greens, Centre, and Liberal-Radicals, all of whom have sounded the alarm about the consequences of the ‘yes’ vote.
READ MORE: Who is leading the fight in Switzerland against the anti-immigration proposal?
Why Trump?
Because the vast majority of Swiss people don’t like the US president.
At least that is what emerges from a survey carried out by gfs.bern institute, which reveals that 80 percent of Switzerland’s population “is worried about the ‘world according to Trump’.
Therefore, opponents are astutely using his image as a ‘scare tactic’ of sorts.
As reported by Swiss media, it is a “shock communication strategy” to remind voters what could happen in Switzerland if the SVP’s bid to limit immigration – and ultimately, terminate bilateral agreements with the EU – is approved in a referendum on June 14th.
Concretely, it is “aimed at alerting voters to the real and radical consequences” of the vote, Watson news platform said.
The blunt message
The billboard also serves as not-so-subtle reminder of who would pose a threat to Switzerland if its alliances with the European Union are severed.
This point is driven home by the message printed over Trump’s head: “Isolation from Europe? Certainly not now!”
