Changes

In 1977, [[Christoph Blocher]], a 36 year-old businessman, was elected president of the Zürich branch of the SVP.<ref name="pp.130">Skenderovic, pp. 130.</ref> Under the leadership of Blocher, a strong [[conservative]], the Zürich SVP broke from the rest of the party<ref name="pp.130"/> and adopted a bold right-wing conservative agenda.<ref name="pp.131">Skenderovic, pp. 131.</ref> In the 1979 elections, the Zürich SVP increased their share of the vote from 11.3 to 14.5 percent, the best result in 50 years.<ref name="pp.131"/>

In 1977, [[Christoph Blocher]], a 36 year-old businessman, was elected president of the Zürich branch of the SVP.<ref name="pp.130">Skenderovic, pp. 130.</ref> Under the leadership of Blocher, a strong [[conservative]], the Zürich SVP broke from the rest of the party<ref name="pp.130"/> and adopted a bold right-wing conservative agenda.<ref name="pp.131">Skenderovic, pp. 131.</ref> In the 1979 elections, the Zürich SVP increased their share of the vote from 11.3 to 14.5 percent, the best result in 50 years.<ref name="pp.131"/>

In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a divide between the moderate Bern wing and the new Conservative right-wing Zürich wing.<ref>Skenderovic, pp. 129.</ref>

In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a divide between the moderate Bern wing and the new Conservative right-wing Zürich wing.<ref>Skenderovic, pp. 129.</ref> However, mostly in the 1990s, the conservative faction took control of the national party.<ref>Skenderovic, pp. 132-135.</ref> During the same period, the SVP grew dramatically in size, making large increases in its budget and expanding its representation and reach to all 26 cantons.<ref>Skenderovic, pp. 133, 142.</ref>

 

Arguably the most important action of the SVP was its successful opposition of Swiss entry into the European Economic Area (EEA) in 1992. As a strong conservative, Blocher strongly opposed Swiss integration with, and thus a loss of sovereignty to, outside powers, and he was able to convince the national party to adopt his position.<ref name="pp.135">Skenderovic, pp. 135.</ref> The referendum to join the EEA failed, a major success for Blocher and the SVP, and a majority of SVP members voted with Blocher, strengthening his position in the party.<ref name="pp.135"/> Since then, opposition to European integration and loss of national sovereignty has been "a main issue" for the SVP, and in the coming years it sponsored several other conservative national initiatives, which usually were not successful.<ref>Skenderovic, pp. 135-138.</ref>

The SVP and its predecessors had "showed remarkable stability" in "electoral support" until the 1990s.<ref>Skenderovic, pp. 127.</ref>

The SVP and its predecessors had "showed remarkable stability" in "electoral support" until the 1990s.<ref>Skenderovic, pp. 127.</ref>