The Swiss have rejected the idea of strengthening neutrality in a referendum

Swiss voters have rejected an initiative that would have tightened the country’s neutral status. According to preliminary results of the referendum held on 27 September, around 31 per cent voted in favour, whilst 69 per cent voted against.

This is reported by Bloomberg.

The initiative sought to enshrine the principle of ‘perpetual and armed’ neutrality in the Swiss Constitution. Had it been supported by the public, Switzerland would have been barred from joining or cooperating with military alliances such as NATO, as well as from imposing sanctions on countries unless approved by the UN.

The impetus for the initiative was Switzerland’s decision to join the European Union’s sanctions against russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Supporters of the proposal believed that such a move violated the country’s neutrality. This view was shared by Moscow, which called on the Swiss to vote in favour of the initiative.

At the same time, the government, parliament and all the leading political parties, with the exception of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), opposed the proposal. The former leader of the SVP, billionaire Christoph Blocher, spent around two million francs ($2.4 million) on the campaign and its support.

The result of the referendum does not mean that the Swiss are abandoning the country’s neutral status. Instead, the country is retaining the current model, under which the government has greater freedom to determine how to apply the principle of neutrality depending on the international situation.

This is the second failure of an SVP initiative this year — in a referendum in June, voters also rejected a proposal to cap the country’s population at 10 million.

Switzerland’s neutral status, internationally recognised in 1815 following the Napoleonic Wars, obliges the country not to take part in military conflicts, not to join military alliances or blocs, and not to allow its territory to be used for military operations. Despite this, Switzerland may cooperate with military alliances without joining them, and may also support international restrictions. For example, since the start of the full-scale war, it has joined the EU’s sanctions against russia.

Source: Bloomberg, Babel