UDC anti-woke crusade: a clever move4 reading minutes

The fight against wokism will be part of the program of the Swiss People's Party (SVP) for the 2023-2027 legislative period. A strategy that has caused a stir in the media - on both sides of the Röstigraben - and begs comment. Despite the criticism, it could well be a very shrewd move for the conservative party in the run-up to the federal elections.

From a strictly ideological point of view, the choice of anti-wokism could leave one skeptical. The wokes, for all their harmfulness (debunking statues, censorship, intimidation, etc.), don't necessarily represent a major political and intellectual force. A few hundred, perhaps thousands, of colorful-haired troublemakers with indistinct sexual identities and outrageous demands, hardly have a revolutionary capacity of any great concern. It's hard to imagine an army of multicolored androgynes overthrowing the Federal Council and Parliament.

Read also | Woke ideology, favors for the underprivileged

Focusing on wokism in this way could lead the SVP to become locked into niche cultural battles, ignoring the real political issues of the day. But the party cleverly avoids this pitfall by specifying in its press release:

«Admittedly, new themes have been incorporated, such as the left-wing terrorism rampant in the gender field and “woke” madness. But the new program focuses on [the party's] traditional values and themes.».

For agrarians, the choice of this anti-woke strategy is above all a communication tool. And it's precisely here that the move is clever. The SVP is the first party at federal level to profile itself on this issue. It therefore catches other parties unprepared, and diverts attention from issues less likely to attract support in the current context (notably questions of sovereignty).

In terms of electoral strategy, the UDC's denunciation of wokism is threefold. Firstly, it allows the SVP to clearly identify the left (the majority of whom are sympathetic to wokes) as its main adversary; secondly, it appeals to voters in more centrist parties who are also sensitive to the woke issue; and thirdly, it strengthens the identity of its own electorate: people who are already convinced by the SVP's positions are unlikely to move away from them as a result of this choice.

Wokism« is a simple and effective concept, more political than philosophical. First and foremost, it is used to designate the visible misdeeds of overzealous progressive activism. For once, it's the right that has succeeded in imposing a word on public debate. The anathema word »wokism« now sticks to the skin of the left, who must try to disassociate themselves from it, either by denouncing it in turn, or by claiming that it's a term invented from scratch by the conservative right, a phantasm of reactionaries, and so on.

Perhaps she's right. The fact remains, however, that the term is evocative for a growing number of voters. They don't see it as an empty signifier, but as a way of referring to certain realities they perceive around them. The SVP is profitably inspired by the - usually left-wing - strategy of infamous, dishonorable words. This is perhaps a clever way of reviving populist rhetoric, which appeals to voters' common sense. In this respect, the left runs the risk of injuring itself against a knife it can't hold by the handle.

Write to the author: antoine.bernhard@leregardlibre.com

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