Hence the choice made by the Swiss is a positive one. There remain however a number of unsolved issues – says Dillena, in this interview with Resetdoc – and myths to be debunked. First, the referendum confirmed that security issues (not concerning the labour sector) are extremely important in the Ticino, which, due to a more unstable economic situation compared to the rest of the country, voted against the trend when compared to the great majority of the Confederation’s Cantons. Second, it is not true that Switzerland is a country periodically tending towards isolationism and xenophobia. More simply, it is a country in which these issues are identical to those experienced by other European countries such as Germany, Great Britain and even Italy. Generalisations should be avoided.

With the recent referendum, Switzerland has said yes to the free movement of Romanian and Bulgarian workers in the country. Initially the result seemed uncertain. However, 59.6% is a significant percentage. What is your opinion on this referendum?

I must say that the result was far better than expected. I believe that it was influenced by the success of bilateral agreements, the Swiss-EU package of agreements, in particular those governing exports. The feared ‘invasion’ of EU citizens arriving in Switzerland did not happen even with free movement of people. This does not mean that there are no more problems to address, starting for example with the issue of banking secrecy.

The position assumed by the Right in Switzerland – closing the door on EU workers fearing low cost competition from those coming from new EU countries – has been labelled by the international press as “xenophobic” and “isolationist.” According to the foreign press this confirms Switzerland’s tendency to sway between openness to the exterior and sudden closure. What is it that causes this dichotomy? Economic factors? Cultural issues?

The international press has a marked tendency to take refuge in stereotypes. Hence as soon as Switzerland is a little reticent in opening its borders, with 25% of its population now consisting of foreigners (where else in Europe has this happened?), it is instantly labelled with these epithets. But then Great Britain is "xenophobic and isolationist" when its workers protest because an Italian company brings over its own workers, as recently happened, to work in the United Kingdom. And Germany too, after welcoming low-cost Polish workers – not only plumbers – discreetly dispatched them all home as soon as the market experienced a crisis. Switzerland is also a country that exists thanks to a series of complicated equilibriums (multilingualism, federalism, consensus based on direct democracy) that do not react well to abrupt changes. Furthermore, its small size does not allow the flexibility enjoyed by other larger European countries. There are of course also extreme positions, but these exist everywhere. I recently read on a wall in Cagliari "Italians out of Sardinia!" So I believe that the problem is one shared by most countries.

In recent years Switzerland has increased its links with the European Union. Do you see this as a positive development?

Before the referendum, those in favour of opening the labour market used the possible collapse of these bilateral agreements as the issue-bogeyman. There are however good reasons for believing that, even when faced with a negative result, a solution would have been found for maintaining the agreements entered so far. These bilateral agreements are in fact advantageous for both Switzerland and the European Union, seeing that the Confederation is a contributing member that does not receive subsidies (Switzerland paid one billion Swiss Francs to the European Cohesion Fund). Luckily however the problem did not arise, and on the basis of the vote expressed by citizens it will be possible to continue negotiations with reciprocal advantages.

The Ticino was one of the few cantons that openly opposed opening the internal labour market. Why did this Italian-speaking canton vote this way?

The Ticino is a region with a basically fragile economy, next to an economic powerhouse such Lombardy, but also with all the problems experienced by Italy and reported on every day in the media. There is an understandable fear of increased pressure on our already uncertain economic situation and above all of making things easier for immigrants from eastern Europe (discussed daily in the Italian media and not in positive terms…). The Ticino awaits an answer to these fears from the Confederation, which must do all it can to avoid making its South even weaker than it is. Some in Italy saw this "No" from the Ticino as an anti-Italian vote. There was even mention of closing the borders to cross-border workers, which is idiotic (they have existed and been important for the Ticino economy long before the EU ever came into being). But with all that happens so close to us and what many Italian friends tell us on the security situation in the areas around Milan, a few concerns are certainly justified. What matters however in relations with the European Union is the national vote.

Translated by Francesca Simmons