Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

POLITICS

Covid-19 law: How Switzerland reacted to the referendum results

Mostly positive feedback has poured in after the majority of Swiss voters backed their government’s pandemic management policy on Sunday.

Published: 29 November 2021 10:36 CET
Swiss voters have firmly backed the Covud-19 law
Protesters demonstrate in front of the parliament in Bern following the result a nationwide vote on a Covid-19 law November 28, 2021. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

After a heated political campaign, 62 percent of voters opposed attempts by some groups to scrap Switzerland’s regulations to combat the pandemic.

Opponents of the Covid-19 legislation, and specifically the revision pertaining to the Covid certificate, launched the nationwide referendum, claiming the certificate requirement that is currently in place until at least January 24th, 2022 creates discrimination and division within society and implicitly forces vaccination.

READ MORE: What’s at stake in Switzerland’s Covid referendum on November 28th?

Most political parties, along with business groups, praised the referendum results.

“Democracy works,” said Health Minister Alain Berset, adding that the referendum  “is an important signal for the pandemic policy of the cantons, parliament and the Federal Council”.

This positive reaction is shared by middle-of-the-road and left-leaning parties alike.

Die Mitte / Le Centre party tweeted that it is reassured by the referendum’s outcome “and will continue to engage in constructive solutions to fight the pandemic”.

As for the Liberals (FDP/PLR),  they “welcome the strong support of the Swiss for the Covid-19 law, thus making it possible to fight effectively against the pandemic and its consequences…the legitimacy of the law is clearly established”.

Social Democrats praised “the confirmation of the policy to combat the health, economic and social effects of the pandemic”, while for the Greens ”this pragmatic ‘yes’ to the Covid law means that the electorate does not want to make a clean sweep of all the management of the crisis”.

The reaction is also positive in the economic circles.

The Swiss Employers’ Association said government measures “have proved their worth and will not be abruptly interrupted”.

Trade unions are also praising the results of the vote, because it “takes into account the interests of society and the economy”, according to the Swiss Union of Arts and Crafts.

As for Swiss Trade Union Federation, “it welcomes the decision of the people in view of the very unpredictable evolution of the epidemic. The guarantee of jobs and wages must continue to go hand in hand with all the necessary actions to stem the spread of the pandemic”.

However, not everyone in Switzerland is happy with the results.

The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the only one of Switzerland’s parties to oppose the Covid legislation, said that “it takes note of the voters’ ‘yes’ to the tightened Covid-19 law with regret. It also warned that  the ensuing “social unrest can cause with unforeseeable consequences”.

The Friends of the Constitution, the group which spearheaded the anti-Covid law referendum, criticised the “disinformation” which preceded the vote and vowed to continue it opposition to the law.

READ MORE: Swiss voters back Covid pass law

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

POLITICS

Vital Swiss role as US-Iran go-between, as tensions soar

Washington and Tehran have not had diplomatic relations for decades, but before Iran's attack on Israel they had direct communications through "the Swiss channel".

Published: 15 April 2024 23:19 CEST
Vital Swiss role as US-Iran go-between, as tensions soar

Switzerland represents US interests in Iran, and at times of soaring tensions its role as go- between takes on heightened importance.

The Swiss foreign ministry refused Monday to divulge what actions the country had taken in connection with Iran’s weekend attack on Israel.

But US and Iranian officials alluded to the important role Switzerland was playing as an intermediary.

As Washington engaged in whirlwind efforts prior to the attack to prepare for the expected violence, it sent “a series of direct communications through the Swiss channel”, a senior administration official told AFP.

Mohammad Bagheri, the Iranian armed forces’ chief of staff, was more explicit, telling state television that “we sent a message to America through the Swiss embassy that if it cooperates with Israel in their next potential actions, their bases will not be secure”.

 Maintaining relations 

Switzerland, renowned for its neutrality, has been representing US interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations with Tehran after the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution.

In its role as the so-called protecting power, Switzerland has for decades allowed the two feuding nations to maintain a minimum of diplomatic and consular relations.

The Swiss embassy in Tehran handles all consular affairs between the United States and Iran, including passport requests, altering civil status and consular protection for US citizens in Iran.

Under the protecting power mandate, Switzerland allows “states to maintain low-level relations and provide consular protection to nationals of the other state concerned”, the foreign ministry explains on its website.

“Switzerland can either offer to act as a go-between on its own initiative or can fulfil this function at the request of the parties concerned, provided that all those involved agree,” it added.

Switzerland has often had to play the go-between role.

The country has on several occasions in recent years mediated in prisoner exchanges between Iran and the United States.

Iran’s interests in the United States are meanwhile represented by Pakistan.

Switzerland also exercises a range of other protecting power mandates.

It represents Iran’s interests in Egypt and Canada.

And it represented Iran’s interests in Saudi Arabia for five years before the two countries resumed diplomatic relations last year.

Saudi has not yet formally terminated Switzerland’s protecting power mandate, so Bern still handles its consular services in Iran.

And until 2015, it represented US interests in Cuba and Cuban interests in the United States.

Switzerland first acted as a protecting power in the 19th century. It looked after the interests of the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Grand Duchy of Baden in France during the 1870-71 Franco- Prussian War.

During World War II, Switzerland’s neutral status paved the way for it to be the main protecting power, representing the interests of 35 states, including the major warring powers, with more than 200 individual mandates.

SHOW COMMENTS