Poll suggests little appetite for Swiss neutrality initiative

A poll suggests the net neutrality initiative is set to be rejected Keystone-SDA

The neutrality initiative currently stands little chance of securing a majority among Swiss voters, according to a poll.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

In total, 54% of those surveyed by the Leewas Institute on behalf of Tamedia and 20 Minuten reject the proposal. Some 34% support the proposal by the Swiss People’s Party. The initiative will be put to a vote on September 27.

Just over a third of those surveyed categorically reject the proposal, whilst 18% answered ‘tending no’. Conversely, 23% said they were ‘definitely’ in favour of the proposal and 11% ‘tending’ in favour.

+ How the neutrality initiative could affect Swiss policy

Some 12% abstained, according to the results of a poll published on Sunday.

The popular initiative “Preserving Swiss Neutrality” seeks to define Swiss neutrality as “perpetual and armed”.

It also demands that Switzerland should not join any military or defence alliances, nor impose economic or diplomatic sanctions against a belligerent state, subject to its obligations towards the United Nations.

The initiative was launched by the organisation Pro Suisse and by representatives of the Swiss People’s Party following the Russian attack on Ukraine. The government and parliament reject the proposal and have not drawn up a counter-proposal.

Support for this initiative comes almost exclusively from Swiss people’s Party circles, with 72% of party members intending to vote in favour of the initiative. The proposal tends to be supported more by young voters from rural areas with a lower level of education.

Apart from the Swiss People’s Party, the initiative faces widespread rejection amongst voters. Opposition is strongest among the Green Liberals (82%), the Greens (79%) and the Social Democratic Party (77%). These tend to be older people with higher education, living in urban areas.

Unlike men, women are less likely to express an opinion on the proposal, according to the poll. Their abstention rate is more than twice that of men (16% compared with 7%). By comparison, more men say ‘yes’ (40% compared with 32% of women) and ‘no’ (25% compared with 21%).

Translated from French, sub-edited by mga