© picture alliance / Zoonar | Nataliya Nazarova
On June 14, Switzerland will vote on the so-called "sustainability initiative" of the right-conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP). The plan aims to reduce the population to 10 million by 2050. This is reported by Der Spiegel.
Currently, Switzerland has a population of 9.05 million. According to the SVP's plan, the Swiss government should put the brakes on immigration, if necessary by canceling international treaties, once the population exceeds 9.5 million.
More than a quarter of the population has no Swiss passport and four in 10 residents have roots outside the country. By 2023, the Swiss population grew with a net immigration of some 100,000 people, mostly highly skilled workers from the European Union, mainly from Germany, France and Italy.
The SVP responds to a widely felt unease: rising rents, overcrowded trains and traffic jams are summed up in the word Dichtestress ("pressure stress"). The moderate campaign strategy is striking: no aggressive anti-immigration posters, but a focus on social themes to reach voters outside the traditional conservative constituency. For now, with success: a narrow majority of the population favors the proposal, including 54 percent of voters in the economically liberal FDP, despite that party's call to vote against it.
Economic risks
Opponents point to the economic risks. Switzerland relies heavily on highly skilled labor from the European Union: more than four in 10 doctors obtained their degrees abroad. Economists warn that if there are personnel shortages, companies will move production abroad. Moreover, critics stress that approval of the plan would affect relations with the EU. That could further burden the country now that Switzerland has already faced U.S. import tariffs of 39 percent.
The outcome depends largely on the FDP's constituency, consisting mainly of employers or property owners who usually benefit from immigration: if they opt for economic prudence, the SVP seems to miss its beat.
Picture: © picture alliance / Zoonar | Nataliya Nazarova