Swiss immigration policy has always put pragmatism first

Switzerland is still wrestling with the thorny question of how to reconcile immigration quotas with the accord on the free movement of people. History may hold some answers – or at least explanations. Negotiations with the European Union are all but dead after voters approved the initiative “against mass immigration” more than two years ago. The last century of immigration history in Switzerland reveals the overriding view that a good foreigner is a useful foreigner. Immigrants have contributed greatly to the construction of modern Switzerland. In 1914, they made up 15% of the country’s population, coming mostly from France, Germany and Italy. Some were bankers or captains of industry, but most worked in the fields, factories or building the railways. During the First World War, tensions in the country were high between those who supported Germany, and those who sided with France. With the economic crisis that followed came the fear of “Überfremdung” – a German term …

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