Switzerland: Vampires will represent the country of St. Nicolas de Flue in the Eurovision Song Contest
On March 27, the Federal Democratic Union (UDF) handed in a petition in Bern with over 49,000 signatures protesting about the song which will represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest in May, in Helsinki: Vampires Are Alive, sung by DJ Bobo.
“Satanism and the occult are no laughing matter. We regret that DJ Bobo, with a song of satanic inspiration, is following in the footsteps of the Finnish group Lordi,” said the UDF president Hans Moser. “Those who sell their soul to the devil are playing games with their own life,” declared the party of Christian inspiration, in a press release, adding that Satan is real and “never makes jokes.” DJ Bobo “is underestimating Hell and Satan.” The petition asked for the song which “profoundly offends religious feeling”, to be withdrawn, appealing to the federal authorities in the name of maintaining denominational peace.
On April 20, the Federal Council declared that it understood that the song by DJ Bobo could hurt feelings, but that it did not wish to interfere in this affair. The Federal Council stressed that the choice of song was a matter for the competence of a jury made up of representatives of national television. The criteria are specified in the rules, which state particularly that it must have a “powerful title” which will satisfy international demands. It also emphasized in its response that an absence of censure constitutes one of the fundamentals of a democratic society.
