Fate of foreign criminals hangs in voters’ hands

Will Swiss voters agree with the Swiss People’s Party that people without a Swiss passport who commit certain crimes should be deported, no questions asked? A bitter campaign that has split the country and featured swastika posters will be decided on Sunday.  In effect, voters will be choosing between the People’s Party’s original version of their deportation initiative that was approved by almost 53% of voters in 2010 and parliament’s version, which the People’s Party says is “watered down”.  The main complaint of the conservative right party is a “hardship clause”, which would enable the courts to intervene if they thought deportation would result in serious hardship for the person involved. It wants deportation to be automatic: commit a serious crime (or two lesser crimes within ten years) and you’re out.  “If the people and cantons want a rigorous deportation practice, they must approve the enforcement initiative,” said Adrian Amstutz, a senior member of the ...