Upper and lower house representatives have voted populist Christoph Blocher into the cabinet, boosting his right-wing People's Party which topped the polls at October's general election. "I'm under no illusion that I've been elected today for several reasons" says Blocher. "But I will try my best to put all my strength into the new government, so the big problems facing our country- and in my opinion they're bigger than people realise- can start to be tackled.". The People's Party, the SVP, challenged the country's "magic formula" - a decades-old deal which gave it just one cabinet seat while the three other parties in the coalition had two seats each. It had threatened to quit unless its representation was increased. The SVP's Samuel Schmid was re-elected as Defence Minister, while Christoph Blocher won his seat from the Christian Democrats, which have the least popular support. Reaction to Blocher's cabinet victory have been swift, some people have taken to the streets of Switzerland's major cities to protest against the election of a politician well-known for his outspoken opposition to the EU and his tough stance on immigration. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Christoph Blocher smiles in the Swiss parliament in Bern December 10, 2003 after being elected a cabinet member. (REUTERS/Peter Mosimann)