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DIRECT DEMOCRACY

Voters set to shun ‘Swiss law first’ initiative: poll

Over 60 percent of Swiss voters plan to vote against the right-wing 'Swiss law not foreign judges' initiative on November 25th, according to a new poll.

Published: 14 November 2018 09:01 CET
Voters set to shun 'Swiss law first' initiative: poll
Members of the Swiss People's Party youth wing protest in favour of the 'Swiss law first' initiative in October. Photo: AFP

A total of 61 percent of people said they were “definitely against” or “against” the controversial initiative which would see Swiss law given priority of international law, according to the latest survey by gfs.bern and carried out in the first week of November.

That is six percentage points higher than the last gfs.bern poll from mid-October.

Read also: What you need to know about the 'Swiss law first' initiative

Meanwhile, the number of people who are either “definitely for” or “for” the initiative has fallen from 39 percent to 37 percent in the same period.

The 'Swiss law not foreign judges' initiative, also known as the ‘self-determination' initiative' (SDI) is backed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP).

With the initiative, the SVP wants the role of international law in Switzerland to be greatly reduced so that the country has more control over its own affairs. 

The SVP has heavily criticised the Swiss government in recent years for failing to properly implement popular initiatives such as one against mass immigration, which was backed by voters in 2014. Despite voters backing that initiative, Bern implement a watered-down version because it would have contravened Switzerland's free movement agreement with the EU.

The SVP says the current initiative is essential to protect's Switzerland's unique system of political democracy and ensure voters's wishes are respected.

But opponents say the initiative would threaten human rights in Switzerland and create chaos in terms of Switzerland's international relations.

Under the terms of the SDI, Switzerland would be required to apply a strict mechanism to deal with conflicts between international law and the Swiss constitution. This would happen, for example, in cases where voters cast their ballots in favour of popular initiatives that contravene international law.

In such cases, Switzerland would have to try and renegotiate international treaties, and if this is not possible, it would have to pull out of them.

Read also: How Switzerland's direct democracy system works

 

For members

HEALTH INSURANCE

How Switzerland’s two crucial health insurance referendums could impact you

The price of Swiss health insurance premiums has been rising significantly in the past few years, prompting political parties to launch two cost-cutting initiatives. The votes will take place in June and there's a lot at stake.

Published: 24 April 2024 15:33 CEST
Updated: 28 April 2024 08:44 CEST
How Switzerland's two crucial health insurance referendums could impact you

On June 9th, the Swiss will cast their votes on two issues aiming, though in different ways, to curb the continually increasing cost of the obligatory health insurance (KVG / LaMal).

This is what’s at stake.

The ’10-percent’ initiative

In view of the high (and rising) premiums and other costs of living, which eat up a big chunk of the budgets of low- and middle-income consumers, the Social Democratic Party has spearheaded a national vote to cap the insurance rates at 10 percent of income.

Anything over this limit should be paid for by the federal and cantonal government, the party says.

While this strategy may sound enticing to everyone tired of paying high premiums, the government warns that while this proposal looks good on paper, the ‘yes’ vote could unleash some serious consequences.

Its main argument is that this measure would cost several billion francs per year, and does not provide any incentives to control health costs.

Instead, the Federal Council and the parliament have concocted their own ‘counter initiative’ that they want voters to approve.

Under this proposal, cantons will have to increase the amount of financial help they pay toward health premiums for low-income people. 

READ ALSO: How do I apply for health insurance benefits in Switzerland?

‘For Lower Premiums’ initiative

For its part, the Centre party has come up with its own proposal to reduce health insurance costs, which will also be voted on June 9th.

It provides for a ‘brake’ on health costs, which should evolve according to the economy and wages.

This brake would work in the same way as the federal spending brake. Therefore, when healthcare costs exceed wages for a given year by 20 percent, the government must take action to bring the  costs down.

The government is asking voters to turn down the Centre’s proposal because it doesn’t take into account factors such as demography, technological progress in healthcare, as well as the dependence of salaries on economic developments.

Here too, the Federal Council and parliament have put out their own counter-project, providing for more targeted measures, including specific cost control objectives for healthcare services.

Are there any other proposals on the table aiming to curb the cost of insurance premiums?

Yes.

While they are not on the ballot, two ideas have been debated in past months.

One calls for scrapping multiple private carriers  in favour of a government-run single health insurance scheme, similar to that in the EU. 

The other idea floating around is to replace the current system where rates are determined by factors such as age and canton of residence, and base them on wages instead. 

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