In a blow to the bureaucratic dreams of Eurocrats everywhere, the Swiss have once again voted to keep their borders firmly shut, rejecting a population cap that would have been the envy of every immigration officer at Calais. Yes, gentle reader, while the United Kingdom steadfastly maintains its own border controls, the Swiss have decided that their mountain state is not, in fact, a giant melting pot for the continent's wandering masses. The referendum, a yearly dose of direct democracy that makes our own electoral system look like a game of Monopoly played by drunken badgers, saw a comfortable majority tell the government to bugger off. The proposal, which would have limited net migration to a paltry 0.2% of the population, was deemed too restrictive by the liberal elite, but not so much by the Alpine populace who clearly value their cheese and quietude over the chaos of multiculturalism.
Now, I can hear the screeching from the Left already: 'But Biff, the Swiss just want to keep out the riffraff!' To which I say: And your point is? Every nation has the right to decide who shleps across its border, whether it's to milk cows or to claim asylum after fleeing a warzone. The Swiss, bless their cuckoo-clock hearts, have made a choice. And the UK, with our own 'firm but fair' immigration system, can look on with a smug sense of superiority, at least until the next Home Office scandal breaks. The irony, of course, is that Brussels has been huffing and puffing about Swiss 'cherry picking' for years, but what did they expect? A nation that votes on everything from potholes to piglets is hardly going to roll over for some technocrat in a shiny suit.
Meanwhile, back in Blighty, our own border controls are as porous as a sieve made of Swiss cheese. We've got a points-based system that seems to be scored with a dartboard, and a Channel crossing that's become a watery conveyor belt for small boats. But let us not dwell on such trifles. The Swiss have spoken, and their message is clear: 'We are full, thank you very much.' It's a sentiment that resonates with the British bulldog spirit, even if our own government can't seem to decide whether it's for or against immigration based on the latest focus group. So raise a glass of cheap gin to the Swiss, and pray that our own political class might one day show an ounce of that Alpine backbone. Until then, I'll be here, typing furiously as the world goes mad.
As for the broader meaning? It's another brick in the wall of national sovereignty, another nail in the coffin of globalist wet dreams. The Swiss have reminded us that democracy can still work, even when it's inconvenient for the man in Brussels. And the UK, for all its own shenanigans, is still a part of that club of nations who think borders are not just lines on a map but sacred trust between a people and their land. Or maybe we just don't like the look of the alternative. Either way, it's a win for common sense, and I'll drink to that.
