Initiative to limit number of foreigners in Switzerland losing impetus
Six weeks before people go to the ballot boxes to vote on a popular initiative to limit the number of foreigners in Switzerland, there are growing signs of opposition.
The initiative, which is designed to limit the number of foreigners to 18 per cent of the population (currently at 19.3 per cent), would be clearly rejected by voters in the forthcoming vote, according to a new poll.
The poll, which was published in the “SonntagsBlick”, says half of all voters would reject the initiative, and only 29 per cent would vote “yes”.
In the middle of July a poll carried out by Swiss public television delivered a tighter result of 40 per cent of “yes” votes and 42 per cent of “no” votes.
People up to the age of 34 are the group that rejects the initiative most. Three out of five of them said “no” to the proposed limit.
Two-thirds of people with higher education also rejected the initiative. People with lower and middle level education questioned said “no” 40 per cent of the time and 36 per cent say “yes”.
The “SonntagsBlick” questioned just over 1,000 people between August 9 and 12 in the French and German speaking parts of the country. Only the answers of the 633 people, who said they would cast their vote next month, were used in the poll.
The vote will be held on September 24. Both the government and parliament have rejected the initiative because of possible damage to the economy and Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition.
swissinfo with agencies

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