Swiss feel secure at home

The Swiss are confident about their country's future Keystone

Eight out of ten Swiss feel safe in their own country and are generally optimistic about Switzerland’s future.

But the results of a survey also show that the Swiss have become more concerned about personal safety since the September 11 attacks.

The annual study by the Centre of Security Studies at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich assesses the population’s security concerns.

Over 80 per cent of participants in the survey characterised themselves as feeling “very” safe in Switzerland.

Despite this, the percentage of people who thought their personal safety had been threatened post-September 11 doubled from last year’s figure – rising to 22 per cent.

Anti-United States sentiment remains strong in Switzerland, with less than 20 per cent supporting Washington’s unilateralism over Iraq.

Nearly all those questioned showed pacifist tendencies: nine out of ten were overwhelmingly in favour of preventing war at all costs.

Looking outwards

There were signs too that the Swiss have become more outward-looking than in previous years.

Support for the United Nations increased, with 79 per cent seeing the international body as the sole legitimate guardian of international law.

Nearly two-thirds hoped to see Switzerland play a larger role as a mediator in international conflicts.

Nearly all participants (91 per cent) believed that intensifying cooperation with foreign police forces was of the utmost importance to help ensure the internal security of Switzerland.

Karl Haltiner, one of the report’s authors, told swissinfo that while there were hardly any surprises in this year’s results, one could learn more about the Swiss psyche.

“In the long term, the Swiss tend to refer to and re-evaluate their own institutions more in cases of a foreign menace or in cases of economical uncertainty,” said Haltinger.

Neutrality

Those questioned came out strongly in favour of a number of Swiss traditions, such as neutrality and the militia army.

Nine out of ten Swiss believe that the country should remain neutral. Few thought that neutrality might in some way hinder Swiss foreign policy.

There was a lack of enthusiasm for a professional army and more than half of those asked strongly supported the current militia system.

But despite their worries about security, the Swiss remained optimistic.

When asked how they perceived Switzerland’s future, 66 per cent said the next five years would be rosy.

While the level of optimism reflected that of 2002, it was still much lower than the highs achieved in 2001 and 2000.

The authors of the study said this was probably due to the current economic uncertainty.

swissinfo, Faryal Mirza

In brief

The Centre for Security Studies conducts an annual survey to assess the security concerns of the Swiss.

The latest survey shows more than 80 per cent of Swiss people feel safe in their country.

Some 22 per cent believe that, since September 11, their personal security is under threat.

The study questioned 1,202 people between January 11 and February 5. A second group of 1,002 people was polled in April – after the war in Iraq.