Switzerland’s 2007 general election campaign will long be remembered for an overtly racist poster plastered on billboards around the country by the rightwing Swiss Peoples’ Party, the SVP. The poster depicted three white sheep kicking a lone black sheep off the Swiss flag, accompanied by the caption: “For Greater Security”.

Many international observers immediately regarded this as yet one more example of how rightwing parties across Europe are increasingly resorting to blatant expressions of racism to attract votes. Those who were offended by the “sheep-billboard” will be even more alarmed by Monday’s election result – which saw the SVP increase its share of the Swiss national vote by two percentage points to 29 per cent.