The usual suspects are proclaiming that Switzerland will now have “pariah status”. On the contrary, there is significantly more respect for Switzerland around the world after the referendum than there was before. The news that the electorate in one European country has had the resolution to defy its political class and refuse to roll over and indulge a politically correct minority will be an inspiration to other electorates.

There is a backlash on the way: at present it is showing itself in small ways, over minor matters such as minarets, but presently it will manifest itself on more substantial issues such as immigration and bogus climate change. It is no coincidence that the people most loudly bemoaning the ban on minarets in Switzerland are those who most vociferously applauded the prohibition on crucifixes in Italian classrooms. The consistent principle is an attack on European Christian civilisation, complemented by subservience to all the enemies of that civilisation, secular or Islamic.