GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss billionaire lawmaker behind the nation’s recent anti-immigration vote is leaving parliament to concentrate on ensuring that Switzerland never joins the European Union.
Christoph Blocher, a former justice minister, says he will remain as vice president of the nationalist Swiss People’s Party, which sponsored the anti-immigration referendum.
Switzerland has suffered a backlash from the EU since narrowly passing the referendum Feb. 9 seeking to cap immigration which goes against EU-Switzerland free movement treaties.
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