Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Christoph Blocher, a billionaire industrialist and fervent nationalist, won a seat Wednesday on the federal Cabinet, Switzerland’s most powerful elected body, a move likely to lead to a clampdown on immigration.
Blocher, 63, spent 24 years in parliament. He also leads the Swiss People’s Party, is widely respected by business leaders at home, but abroad is often labeled a right-wing extremist.
His election drew praise from Swiss banks and industry but alarm from refugee aid groups, who recalled his anti-immigrant rhetoric.
