Swiss acceptance of climate law due to low right-wing mobilisation

Swiss voters who align themselves with right-wing party ideology had a much lower voter turnout this election, which in turn affected the result and approval of the climate law. © Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

The Climate and Innovation Law, which was on the ballot on June 18, was accepted by 59.1% of Swiss voters despite the rejection of a similar CO2 law in 2021. This was due to low mobilisation from the right-wing supporters and voting behaviours based on party preferences, an analysis by the gfs.bern research institute shows.

An analysis by the research institute gfs.bern, shows that the reason the climate law passed is due to low mobilisation of rural voters and voting behaviours in line with party preference. The voter participation for the climate law was only 42%.

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According to the press release by gfs.bern, prior to the C02 vote in 2021 there was a greater mobilisation of voters, especially in the rural areas, due to two agricultural initiatives that were also on the ballot. The mobilisation by the right-wing Swiss Peoples Party and the Swiss farmers unions we the primary reason for the rejection of the CO2 law.

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Swiss voters who align themselves with right-wing party ideology had a much lower voter turnout this election, which in turn affected the result and approval of the climate law. This past June, the gfs.bern analysis recorded 30% less voters from those positioned on the far right of the political spectrum.

Differences between the two bills were not only found in terms of mobilisation, but also in voting behaviour according to party preference. This past June, 64% of The Centre and 66% of the Radical-Liberal Party supporters voted in favour of the climate law. In comparison, 47% of The Centre and 37% of the Radical-Liberal Party supporters had voted in favour of the CO2 law in 2021.

The Vox analysis is carried out after every federal vote by the gfs.bern research institute and is financed by the Swiss Federal Council. For the analysis of the federal vote on June 18 2023, 3,143 eligible voters were surveyed, according to gfs.bern.