Canton Vaud residents in western Switzerland voted on Sunday against an initiative to give registered foreigners the right to vote on cantonal issues.

"/> Canton Vaud residents in western Switzerland voted on Sunday against an initiative to give registered foreigners the right to vote on cantonal issues.

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ELECTION

‘No’: Foreigners denied right to vote in Vaud

Canton Vaud residents in western Switzerland voted on Sunday against an initiative to give registered foreigners the right to vote on cantonal issues.

Published: 5 September 2011 11:53 CEST

The “live and vote here” initiative was rejected by almost 70 percent of cantonal voters. Only 40 percent of the electorate turned out, with 108,765 residents voting “No” and 48,966 “Yes”.

If the initiative had passed, Canton Vaud would have been the first to allow foreigners living in Switzerland for more than 10 years, three of those in Canton Vaud, to be elected to political office as well as offering them full voting rights. 

Since 2003, around 85,000 people fulfilling the Canton Vaud residence requirements have been able to vote on communal level issues and be elected for communal positions.

Supporters of the initiative had said it was unfair that people who had lived in Switzerland for a long time and who paid taxes could not take part in cantonal votes and elections.

On hearing the result, Raphaël Mahaim of the Green Party, who led support for the initative, told Tages Anzeiger newspaper:

“The result is clear. The time was not yet right for the initiative, but I am optimistic that the debate will not stop here.”

Opponents argued that foreigners who wanted to take part in civil activities should become Swiss citizens. 

“Two out of three Vaud residents are not ready to separate political rights on the cantonal level from obtaining Swiss nationality,” head of Vaud cantonal interior office Philippe Leuba told Tribune de Genève newspaper, adding that the vote should not be seen as a rejection of foreigners.

Leuba explained that Vaud is one of the cantons in which it is easiest to obtain a Swiss passport.

A similar foreigner voting rights initiative was proposed on August 4th in Zürich when a petition with nearly 7,000 signatures was delivered to the cantonal government. Similar proposals fell flat in the cantons of Bern and Basel-Stadt last year. 

Foreigners living in the cantons of Geneva, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Freiburg, Graubünden, Vaud, Jura, Basel-Stadt and Neuenburg may vote in communal, local elections if they are 18 years or older and have been legally registered in one of those cantons for a minimum of eight years. 

Currently, foreigners can vote on a cantonal level only in Neuenburg and Jura.

No foreigner has the right to stand for election in Switzerland.

ELECTION

German Greens’ chancellor candidate Baerbock targeted by fake news

With Germany's Green party leading the polls ahead of September's general elections, the ecologists' would-be successor to Angela Merkel has become increasingly targeted by internet trolls and fake news in recent weeks.

Published: 29 April 2021 09:13 CEST
German Greens' chancellor candidate Baerbock targeted by fake news
The Greens chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock on April 26th. Photo: DPA

From wild claims about CO2-emitting cats and dogs to George Soros photo collages, 40-year-old Annalena Baerbock has been the subject of a dizzying array of fake news, conspiracy theories and online attacks since she was announced as the Greens’ chancellor candidate in mid-April.

The latest polls have the Greens either ahead of or level with Merkel’s ruling conservatives, as the once fringe party further establishes itself as a leading electoral force in Europe’s biggest economy.

Baerbock herself also consistently polls higher than her conservative and centre-left rivals in the race to succeed Merkel, who will leave office after 16 years this autumn.

Yet her popularity has also brought about unwanted attention and a glut of fake news stories aimed at discrediting Baerbock as she bids to become Germany’s first Green chancellor.

READ ALSO:

False claims

Among the false stories circulating about Baerbock is the bizarre claim that she wants to ban household pets in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Another fake story firmly denied by the party claimed that she defied rules on mask-wearing and social-distancing by embracing colleagues upon her nomination earlier this month.

Baerbock has also been presented as a “model student” of Hungarian billionaire George Soros – a hate figure for the European far-right and anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists – in a mocked-up social media graphic shared among others by a far-right MP.

More serious online attacks include a purported photo of Baerbock which in fact shows a similar-looking naked model.

The Greens’ campaign manager Michael Kellner said that the attempts to discredit Baerbock had “taken on a new dimension”, that “women are targeted more heavily by online attacks than men, and that is also true of our candidate”.

Greens co-leader Annalena Baerbock earlier this month. Photo: DPA

Other false claims about the party include reports of a proposed ban on barbecues, as well as plans to disarm the police and enforce the teaching of the Quran in schools.

While such reports are patently absurd, they are potentially damaging to Baerbock and her party as they bid to spring a surprise victory in September.

“She has a very real chance, but the coming weeks are going to be very important because Baerbock’s public image is still taking shape,” Thorsten Faas, a political scientist at Berlin’s Free University told AFP.

In a bid to fight back against the flood of false information, the party has launched a new “online fire service” to report fake news stories.

READ ALSO: Greens become ‘most popular political party’ in Germany

Russian disinformation

Yet stemming the tide is no easy job, with many of those who peddle disinformation now using private messaging services such as WhatsApp and Telegram rather than public platforms such as Facebook.

The pandemic and ongoing restrictions on public life will also make it harder for the campaign to push through their own narratives at public events.

Miro Dittrich of Germany’s Amadeu-Antonio anti-racism foundation claims that lockdown has “played a role” in the spread of fake news.

“People are isolated from their social environment and are spending a lot more time online,” he said.

Another factor is Russia, which has made Germany a primary target of its efforts to spread disinformation in Europe.

According to the European anti-disinformation platform EUvsDisinfo, Germany has been the target of 700 Russian disinformation cases since 2015, compared to 300 aimed at France and 170 at Italy.

As an outspoken critic of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Germany and Russia, Baerbock may well become a target of such attacks during the election campaign.

By Mathieu FOULKES

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