The longtime strongman of Switzerland’s populist rightwing movement was attacked by a man carrying a knife after a political debate in Zurich but escaped unharmed, according to a Swiss newspaper. Security guards tackled the man and pushed him up against a wall, at which point a knife he was carrying fell to the ground, SonntagsBlick reported. The attacker appeared disoriented, said Blocher, who stood down earlier this year as vice-president of SVP, Switzerland’s largest party. The politician is widely credited with bankrolling the party and transforming it from a rural group into a powerful political machine anchored to the hard-right. He helped cement SVP’s brand of populist nationalism, with its virulent campaigns against immigration, the EU and Islam.

Source: The Guardian September 18, 2016 10:50 UTC