Called "roeschti," the potato patty is one of Switzerland's most beloved dishes. Yet in the Helvetia Roeschti Bar in the multicultural Kreuzberg district, Swiss expatriates hurl it away in a playful expression of their contempt with politics in current-day Switzerland.

"Switzerland is moving to the right and we want to take a stance against this development with our Dadaist art projects," Swiss-born artist Adam Tellmeister, who has been living in Berlin since 1989, told United Press International in an interview.

The Roeschti-hurl is such a Dadaist project. The bar has several roeschti on the menu, among them, for a relatively pricey $20, the "Blocher-roeschti." It's a reference to Christoph Blocher, the poster boy of the far-right Swiss People's Party, or SVP, which has been amassing voter support with populist campaigning. The Blocher-roeschti is made entirely of potato leftovers and intended for throwing rather than eating.

With the $20, throwers support artists who perform in the Roeschti Bar, a venue for concerts, readings, comedy performances and discussions. Roughly 60 Swiss expats meet at the bar every Friday to discuss political issues in Switzerland over glasses of German beer.

"And let's be frank: What's going on over there really worries us," Tellmeister said.

Last Sunday, a majority of Swiss voted in favor of a new anti-foreigner bill, launched by the SVP, which will enable authorities to expel without the possibility for appeal foreign nationals convicted of crimes ranging from murder to welfare abuse. A year ago, Switzerland raised eyebrows when it backed a SVP proposal banning the construction of minarets at mosques in the country.

"We want to show that not all Swiss think like that," said Tellmeister, leading this reporter outside the bar, where a red minaret is painted on the facade. "We want to communicate a more tolerant Swiss image, one that's more open toward Europe."

More than 650,000 Swiss -- nearly 10 percent of the population -- live in a foreign country, most of them in France, Germany and the United States.

The Swiss media has termed this large minority "Fuenfte Schweiz" ("the fifth Switzerland") in reference to the four linguistic parts of the country. By sheer numbers, it's clear that the fifth Switzerland can influence the outcome of any election.

Around 4,500 Swiss expatriates live in Berlin, many of them students, artists or actors -- young, dynamic, well-educated people who often speak several languages. They value Berlin's cheap rents, its creative chaos, its anything-goes mentality.

In the Roeschti Bar, they come together mocking the far-right SVP or the government's security policy decision to introduce the biometric passport. They've called their small group Fuenfte Schweiz (www.fuenfte-schweiz.de) and have played with the idea of electing a mock president to contact the government back home.

"We want to start a dialog with the old Switzerland," Tellmeister said, adding that tourists from Switzerland, lured to the meetings by hearsay, have already launched an exchange of ideas.

Tellmeister says he wants to apply for EU funding for his group of artists. Support from Brussels for the Swiss-exiled opposition, Tellmeister said, would show the government in Bern "what it's up against. It wouldn't be about money. It's about the gesture of support. Fifty bucks would do," he said with a laugh.

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