The Swiss media continue to analyse last Sunday's federal vote by dealing with the big losers: the pollsters.

Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Swiss media are still dissecting Sunday’s federal votes, focusing on the surprise losers: polling institutes, whose predictions proved inaccurate – a rare occurrence.

Also in the spotlight: cyber security, single health insurance, and the idea of giving voters a new democratic tool.

Happy reading!

This content was published on September 30, 2025 - 16:30

4 minutes

A member of the Swiss Abroad editorial team, I mainly write about Switzerland's most peculiar features and stories. After completing my master's degree in Asian Studies in Geneva (with a detour at Tokyo University and Kyoto University), I worked on the newsdesk at RSI, occasionally collaborating with Presence Switzerland during the Expo in South Korea and Milan. I have been working for SWI swissinfo.ch since 2016.

Both the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and Tamedia polls predicted a drawn-out vote for the abolition of rental value and an almost certain 'yes' for the introduction of electronic identity (e-ID). It was the other way round. — Both the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and Tamedia polls predicted a close vote for the abolition of rental value and an almost certain yes for the introduction of electronic identity (e-ID). It ended up being the other way around. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

Sunday’s federal ballot is still making headlines, with commentators asking why polls missed the mark – something that seldom happens.

On the German language Swiss public broadcaster, SRF, political scientist Martina Mousson noted that polls are only snapshots of opinion and that late shifts, such as a final mobilisation, can change outcomes. She argued that this explained the decisive rural push for abolishing the imputed rental value, among voters also more sceptical of e-ID.

On the French language Swiss public broadcaster, RTS, Lausanne professor Sean Müller speculated that predictions of a tight outcome may have spurred many voters to the polls to end the rental value system. He also detected a growing share of society that distrusts “the state, the experts and the media”, a trend visible since the Covid-19 pandemic. According to him, this group does not take part in polls – or gives misleading answers.

The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) called the widening social split revealed by the vote the Corona-Graben (“Covid trench” a play on the Röstigraben, Switzerland’s linguistic divide).

Compulsory health insurance premiums will rise by an average of 4.4% in Switzerland, with large differences between cantons. Keystone / Christian Beutler

Days after the announcement of higher health insurance premiums, frustration among residents is reflected in a Tamedia survey: 68% favour or rather favour creating a single public insurer.

The idea now enjoys majority support across all age groups, income levels, political parties and among both women and men. Some 9% of respondents said they expect to struggle with higher premiums in 2026, while 5% said they did not know how they would cope.

Only 36% supported reducing the number of hospitals, widely seen as a major driver of costs. A similar nationwide initiative in 2007, which called for merging insurers into one body with income- and wealth-based premiums, was rejected by 71.2% of voters.

Premium hikes are steepest in Ticino, where voters on Sunday defied the authorities’ recommendation and strongly backed two cantonal initiatives to ease health costs.

The most frequent reports concerned DDoS attacks, followed by hacking, ransomware and credential theft. Keystone / Str

Since April 1, Switzerland has required critical infrastructure operators to report cyberattacks within 24 hours. Since then, the Federal Office of Cyber Security (FOCS) has logged almost one case a day – 164 in total.

The sectors most affected have been IT (8.7%), energy (7.6%) and finance (1%), but reports have been received from a wide range of departments: from the healthcare system, postal services, transport and media. The technology and food supply sectors have also been hit.

FOCS praised the good cooperation so far. The reports are used for statistics and to help anticipate and prevent future threats.

From October, failing to report could prove costly: fines of up to CHF100,000 ($125,386) are foreseen.

Do the Swiss people need another democratic instrument? Keystone / Peter Schneider

Parliament is debating the idea of introducing a new democratic instrument: the popular motion at federal level. Six parliamentarians from five parties have submitted postulates. But what is it all about?

Currently, citizens can oppose laws via referendum or launch popular initiatives, which require 100,000 signatures and entail constitutional change. Sometimes, this forces parliament into counter-proposals that only amend legislation.

The popular motion would allow voters to make a binding request for parliament to draft a law – without touching the constitution. The tool already exists in several cantons and is credited with speeding up the political process.

The six parliamentarians are now asking the government to examine the possibility of introducing the new instrument and to define any details, such as the number of signatures required.

The idea is not new. A motion to this effect was submitted in 2012 by independent senator Thomas Minder. At the time, the Swiss federal government was sceptical, rejecting the proposal and arguing that “the proliferation of people’s rights instruments does not necessarily mean a strengthening of these rights”.