Casting my vote

In a stunning shift, the Swiss decided to accept the ultra-conservative SVP initiative extending immigration quotas to EU nationals. It was accepted by a hair-thin 50.3%, with 49.7% voting to reject it. Voter turnout was one of the highest in years, 55.8%. As I feared, the canton of Ticino did indeed vote in favor or it, but what was incredible was the scale of the support – a whopping 68.2%. In Pura, 408 people voted for the initiative (70.34%) while 171 people and I (29.66%) voted against it.I never thought it was going to be that high. Of course, ever since the vote on Sunday, the newspaper headlines trumpet the obvious consequences. Our Corriere del Ticino’s banner headline on Monday: Free Movement of People Stops; Tuesday: Switzerland Will Have Serious Problems; Wednesday: The European Union Pulls the Plug; today, The European Union Closes the Door.
What were the Swiss thinking? A twitter posting from the German SPD politician Ralf Stegner: “Die spinnen, die Schweizer”, The Swiss, they’re crazy.