Swiss express fears about healthcare and unemployment

Healthcare is a key Swiss worry Keystone

A national survey commissioned by Credit Suisse shows that healthcare is the issue that most concerns the Swiss people.

The annual survey, called the “worry poll”, measures the nation’s collective anxieties, and attitudes towards troublesome issues. This year, unemployment has risen to become the nation’s second major concern, up from fifth place last year in the list of issues worrying the Swiss. The concern about unemployment was the most significant change from a year ago.

For the first time, worries about terrorism also made an appearance in the survey’s top ten, together with fears about political extremism.

Refugees’ impact

Other issues that made in into the top ten in the worry list, were the impact of refugees on society and financial stability. ·

The GfS research institute conducted the poll for Credit Suisse.

The institute reported that nearly two-thirds of the more than 1,000 respondents in the sample poll – 64 per cent – listed medical care as their chief concern.

In measuring the nation’s chief anxieties, the poll has brought to light a series of important changes in Switzerland’s collective psyche, such as the new fears about terrorism and extremism, and also about the issue of globalization. The poll reflects attitudes during 2001.

A year earlier, attitudes toward the employment sector of the economy were relatively ‘positive’, with only 34 percent of those interviewed citing it as a concern. However within a year, the numbers climbed by 11 percent, with a resounding 45 percent of the sample population including it in their list of worries.

Last year, healthcare also topped the “worry-meter”. The percentage of those anxious about this issue rose by a striking 5 per cent over 2000 to the current level of 64 per cent.

Terrorism fears

The rise in global terrorism has had an important impact on attitudes in the country. The Swiss had previously cited political extremism as a key concern, but the main focus of their anxieties is now global terrorism.

The category itself hardly earned a mention in the year 2000 (one percent), but now terrorism/extremism figures strongly in sixth position, with 27 per cent of those polled considering it a cause for concern.

The concern about globalization is rising. It was first mentioned in 1996, and is now the eighth highest concern.

A clear long-term trend is the steady decrease in concern about environmental protection.

While the issue was cited by 74 per cent of Swiss citizens as a worry in 1988, only 50 per cent were troubled about it in 1992.

In 1996, 20 per cent of poll respondents were worried about the environment, but by 2001, only 15 per cent expressed concern.

swissinfo with agencies