Right-wing firebrand shakes up cosy Swiss politics

Former Swiss justice minister and right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) leader Christoph Blocher smiles during an interview with Reuters in the village of Maennedorf, near Zurich January 19, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

MAENNEDORF, Switzerland (Reuters) - As a child growing up near the Swiss border with Germany in the early 1940s, Christoph Blocher remembers soldiers camping out in his family's garden, ready to defend the neutral nation against a surprise attack from the Nazis.

The godfather of the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), which has unnerved investors with plans to cut immigration and demote international law, says the experience instilled a fierce desire to shield Switzerland from external influences.