Switzerland Today – vote edition
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The sun was out in Bern today, and the political climate also favoured the government as voters backed its position in all four national ballots.
Swiss citizens have strongly rejected an initiative to reduce the public media licence fee. They have also backed the introduction of individual taxation for married couples, turned down a proposal for a new climate fund and approved the government’s counterproposal to the “Cash is freedom” initiative.
We take a look at what these results mean in this special vote edition of our briefing.
SBC initiative: most Swiss voters reject plan to slash the public media licence fee.
A clear majority of 62% Swiss voters have rejected an initiative to almost halve the television and radio licence fee paid to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and to exempt businesses from paying it. Swissinfo is part of the SBC, which funds half its budget via the licence fee.
The outcome went beyond pollsters’ expectations. The most recent survey by the gfs.bern research institute, published in mid‑February, suggested that 54% would vote against the proposal.
However, this initiative is hardly unprecedented: it’s the sixth failed attack against the media fee since 1982. And Switzerland is not alone. In an analysis piece, Swissinfo political reporters Samuel Jaberg, Balz Rigendinger and Katy Romy look at how several Western democracies are cutting funding for public broadcasters. Their article also analyses the role played – or, more accurately, not played – by Swiss citizens abroad in this latest vote.
While voters refused the proposal to reduce the annual licence fee from CHF335 ($431) to CHF200, the amount will still drop to CHF300 per year by 2029, in line with a decision taken earlier by the government.
Swiss end the “marriage penalty tax”: spouses will now be taxed individually.
International Women’s Day 2026 will go down in Swiss political history as the day voters chose to abolish joint taxation for married couples, a system long criticised for penalising working women.
Until now, married couples were taxed jointly on a single tax return. This effectively punished households where both partners worked and earned similar salaries. On Sunday, 54% of voters backed a shift to individual taxation.
Parliament approved individual taxation last year for the first time in 15 years, prompting conservative parties and ten cantons to challenge the decision at the ballot box by launching referendums against it.
Supporters say individual taxation will boost women’s participation in the workforce and promote greater equality. Opponents argue it favours dual‑income couples over single‑earner households.
But the story isn’t over. The Centre Party, which campaigned against the reform, announced on Sunday that it will continue to push its own initiative to scrap the marriage penalty while keeping joint taxation.
Big loser of the day: the climate.
With relatively little media attention or campaign cash behind it, the proposal to allocate 0.5-1% of Switzerland’s GDP to a dedicated climate fund to boost renewable energy and biodiversity protection measures was rejected by a hefty 71% of voters.
Lukas Golder of the research institute gfs.bern notes that left-wing parties and the Greens failed to turn increased mobilisation into meaningful support.
The result sends a clear political signal: appetite for concrete and financial climate action appears to be waning in Switzerland. A proposal to tax high earners to fund climate measures was defeated last November. While surveys consistently show global warming ranking among the country’s top concerns, many voters appear far less enthusiastic when it comes to signing off significant public spending to tackle it.
In an analysis article, Swissinfo’s Luigi Jorio looked into how today’s economic and geopolitical turbulence is reshaping voters’ priorities.
Money, money, money: but what kind? Clearly, cash.
Despite a steady trend towards digital payments, the Swiss aren’t ready to part with cash just yet. In fact, Sunday’s vote shows they want to protect it: voters have backed a move to enshrine the use of cash in the federal constitution.
The government’s counterproposal to the “Cash is freedom” initiative won strong support, with 74% in favour. The original initiative, launched by the Swiss Freedom Movement, better known for its campaigns against mandatory vaccination, was rejected by 55%. Still, the government embraced the general idea, opting for a more precise wording.
The results from canton Fribourg were still pending at the time of writing. But these will not change the final results of the votes.
Edited by Reto Gysi von Wartburg/sb
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