Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
With less than two weeks until the vote on electronic identity (e-ID) and the abolition of rental value, we have the results of the second SBC poll on voting intentions.
Also, the F-35 fighter jets that Switzerland wants to buy from the US are back in the news. A poll shows that repeated scandals have shaken the public’s confidence in the government and that they no longer want to pay for the planes.
The second SBC poll on the nationwide votes to be held on September 28 shows that electronic identity (e-ID) is well on the way to being accepted. The outcome of the vote on the abolition of rental value, meanwhile, promises to be close.
As in the first poll, supporters of all parties except the right-wing Swiss People’s Party are in favour of the e-ID law. On the other hand, criticism has increased in rural areas and among voters who distrust institutions.
The introduction of an electronic identity is a long-standing demand of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), which sees it as an opportunity to simplify relations between members of the Swiss Abroad and the Swiss authorities. The diaspora is slightly more supportive of the project than the electorate as a whole (60% versus 59%).
The situation is much less clear-cut regarding the proposal to abolish rental value. Support has fallen to 51%. Among Swiss Abroad, support is down to 49%. “Rejection is on the rise, while support is falling,” observes gfs.bern political scientist Martina Mousson. “That’s why we’re talking about a trend towards a no vote, even if the majority is still in favour.”
The Senate today approved a motion calling for French-Swiss dual nationals to no longer be able to avoid their military obligations in Switzerland. Like the House of Representatives, it also rejected an additional billion francs for the army.
Under a treaty between Switzerland and France, dual nationals can choose in which country they wish to fulfil their military obligations if they declare this before the age of 19. To avoid Swiss military service, which is much more restrictive, hundreds of young men choose to take the Defence and Citizenship Day in France.
Parliamentarian Mauro Poggia denounced this “gross inequality of treatment” and called for participation in this day to no longer be considered as an alternative service for Franco-Swiss nationals. His motion was accepted by the Senate by 38 votes to one. The House of Representatives still has to vote on it.
The Senate also rejected a CHF1 billion ($1.25 billion) addition to the army budget. Intended for the purchase of ammunition for ground-air defence systems and for indirect fire support at medium range, this additional credit was rejected by 30 votes to 13. Parliament nevertheless approved the army budget.
Two-thirds of Swiss are opposed to paying more for the F-35 fighters jets, according to a survey carried out by the Ipsos institute for the Le Temps.
According to the poll, two-thirds of Swiss people (67%) consider the increase of up to CHF1.3 billion ($1.65 billion) in the purchase price of 36 F-35 aircraft to be “unacceptable”. Nearly half of those polled (45%) would be in favour of breaking off the purchase agreement with the United States, and 69% of them, across all parties, said they no longer had confidence in the government on this issue; 67% believe that a parliamentary committee of enquiry should be set up.
In the wake of the scandal surrounding the extra cost of buying the F-35s, parliamentarian Franziska Roth from the left-wing Social Democratic Party tabled a motion calling for the Swiss people to be able to vote on a supplementary loan.
However, the government intends to present a new analysis of the situation in November. Roth has therefore decided to withdraw her motion, pending new conclusions. “We need a new referendum to restore the people’s confidence,” she added during the session.
Economics Minister Guy Parmelin signed the free trade agreement with the Mercosur states in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. The Swiss people may well have to vote on it.
Representatives of the four States of the European Free Trade Association (Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and those of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) formally signed the agreement, which was concluded at the beginning of July.
It will now have to go through the Swiss parliament and a possible popular vote in the event of a referendum. The economics ministry sees it as “an important milestone in Swiss trade policy”, which will allow around 96% of Swiss exports to the Mercosur countries to be fully exempt from customs duties.
The Greens disagree. They have already said they are ready for a referendum. Farmers have promised to study the text very carefully to see what concessions have been made on sensitive agricultural products.
Translated from French by DeepL/ts
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