Switzerland is set for a nail-biter vote on a proposal to cap the population at 10 million, after a two-pronged push by campaigners that paired a polished appeal to sustainability-minded moderates with harsher anti-immigrant messaging.
Ahead of the ballot on Sunday, the Swiss People’s Party, or SVP, has cast the initiative as a solution to housing affordability and a defense of the environment, arguing that immigration is forcing the country to pave over its renowned Alpine scenery.
At the same time, groups further to the right have tapped into baser fears about foreigners. An online game released by the Egerkinger Komitee — which says it resists “claims to power of political Islam in Switzerland” — allows players to control a border guard and repel dark-skinned immigrants pictured begging or holding weapons.
Illustration: Kevin Sheu
The population cap is an unprecedented proposal, one never before tried by a modern economy, and critics say it threatens investment, growth and the country’s reputation for openness.
The SVP needed a strong campaign to sell such an idea to a largely pragmatic nation. To do that, it has largely avoided dabbling in racist memes like in the past, instead targeting concerns that resonate with a wider demographic.
“It’s skillful populism,” said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Bruegel think tank. “They managed to capture the imagination of a wide range of groups by tapping into a variety of fallacies, welding together fears embracing environmental concerns and access to housing with traditional anti-immigration sentiment about changing the face of Switzerland.”
Switzerland’s population is about 9.1 million, having risen by some 2 million this century.
Against that backdrop, the broad concept of “too many people” has been getting through, with polls at one point showing a majority in favor of the cap. Support has since slipped, with opposition rising above 50 percent for the first time last week, but the result may still be close.
The latest polls were largely conducted before a knife attack in the city of Winterthur by a man with ties to Islamist groups. Police called it a “terrorist” incident, and it may sway some voters.
“This country already has way too many immigrants — particularly of the wrong ones,” said 55-year-old Thomas Friedli, a former relationship manager at various banks who emigrated to Ecuador and now runs a hotel. “Every time I come back to Switzerland it’s getting worse.”
DIRECT DEMOCRACY
Anti-immigration sentiment is not exclusive to Switzerland, but its direct democracy means there have been repeated votes on the issue.
The system allows people a greater say in parliament decisions, or to propose their own initiatives if they gather enough signatures. The June 14 ballot is the latest in a series going back decades that have tried to put stricter restrictions on immigration.
“Right-wing parties are getting more popular everywhere,” said Michael Hermann, a researcher who oversees public opinion polls for Swiss public television. “If you could cast a ballot against immigration in Germany, the UK or the US, you would get similar results — Switzerland just sticks out because we’re actually voting four times a year.”
In many of the immigration votes, the SVP has played a key role. Since the 1990s, it has grown into a formidable political force, now the largest in the parliament, largely by focusing on concerns about sovereignty and protecting Switzerland from outside influence.
In 2007, it ran controversial election posters in which white sheep kicked a black sheep off a field covered in the Swiss flag.
The party has become well-practiced at crafting emotional, patriotic narratives aimed at overriding economic arguments. And it has had victories, notably in 2014 when an initiative to impose immigration curbs was passed.
After failures in subsequent years, it proposed the population cap, trying to sway more moderate voters.
Opponents call it the “chaos initiative,” saying it will damage the economy and hurt businesses. They also warn that it will jeopardize trade relations with the EU, Switzerland’s biggest trading partner, at a time when fractured globalization means the country needs strong alliances.
“Such a policy would be a costly mistake for a small, open economy whose prosperity depends notably on attracting skilled workers and boosting productivity. Restricting access to foreign talent would undermine a key source of economic growth.”
Jan Kedzior, a retired dentist from Morschach, about 60km south of Zurich, says the SVP has tapped into public frustration, but concern about economic fallout may have the edge.
“People sometimes vote out of spite. Many want to teach our politicians a lesson,” he said. “It will be a very close race. But most Swiss vote with their wallet, so I don’t think it will pass in the end.”
Last year, Switzerland rejected a proposed 50 percent inheritance tax on super-rich residents, deciding the threat of wealthy people leaving the country was too much. Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said at the time that voters were against a “risky fiscal policy experiment” that would have damaged Switzerland’s attractiveness.
If the population cap does secure voter approval, lawmakers may try to water it down later to limit any economic fallout.
The proposal includes a number of measures, starting with restrictions on asylum seekers. If the population breaches 10 million and remains above that level, the country would have to withdraw from an agreement with the EU on the free movement of people. That would affect other pacts in key areas like trade and market access.
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