A landmark national referendum in Switzerland to cap the nation’s population to ten million has failed; however, proponents have claimed a mandate to reduce immigration due to the large share of the public backing the measure on Sunday.
Dubbed a potential “Swiss Brexit”, the referendum would have required the government to cut the number of asylum seekers or the family members of migrants accepted into the country, and even in an emergency situation, to cut off European Union free movement, should the population hit a 9.5 million threshold prior to 2050. There are currently 9.1 million people living in Switzerland, with around 80,000 being added every year. Over a quarter of the population are foreign nationals, or around 2.5 million.
The ballot initiative was put forward by the anti-mass migration Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which despite being the largest party in the parliament in Bern, is prevented from governing by the typically European establishment bloc of centrist left and right parties banding together to form a neoliberal coalition to keep outsider parties from power, as has also been witnessed in Austria, Germany and France.
The SVP argued ahead of the vote that if immigration is allowed to continue at its current pace, Switzerland “will lose its identity” in which people will “suddenly feel like strangers in their own country.” It cited immigration as a central factor in rising crime, the housing shortage, increased traffic, education standards falling, overcrowding on public transport, and the healthcare system being “stretched to the limit”.
“Whether it is creeping Islamization or expats who speak only English, the issue is also about protecting our culture and identity—about how we live together as a society,” the party said. “We have lost control. Excessive immigration and its negative consequences are shaping our daily lives almost everywhere.”
While the referendum fell short, with around 55 per cent of the public voting down the measure according to initial projections, the strong ‘yes’ vote of around 45 per cent demonstrated that the desire to limit immigration is a widely held belief that likely cannot be ignored.
Swiss People’s Party leader Marcel Dettling said per the Blich newspaper that while it was “not a good day for the residents of Switzerland”, he vowed to continue to reduce immigration through the parliament.
“A very, very large part voted yes,” Dettling said, noting that they are expecting solutions, but so far “not a single problem has been solved.”
This sentiment was shared by Swiss People’s Party MP Stephanie Gartenmann, who said that the 45 per cent vote share was a “clear signal that we need to do something.”
Some in the political establishment also agreed, including Christian Democratic People’s Party MP Yvonne Bürgin, who said that the referendum result clearly demonstrated that a large part of the population is concerned with immigration.
She said that the government should look to “better utilize the domestic potential” through job training and other means “so that less immigration is needed”.
However, the left appears intent on declaring the issue settled, with the co-leader of the Social Democrats, Mattea Meyer, accused the SVP of attempting to blame all the country’s problems on foreigners, while saying that the country can now “look forward”.
FDP President Benjamin Mühlemann recalls the aging of society. Many people are retiring, but the economy still needs jobs. “Economy and politics must take responsibility.” To this end, he wants to better utilize the domestic skilled workforce. He also discusses a more flexible retirement age.
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