Swiss referendum looks likely on sanctions against Russia
Swiss citizens are facing a referendum to tighten the country’s long-standing military neutrality and effectively end economic sanctions against Russia and potential trade restrictions on China. A citizens’ petition from a right-wing populist group has gathered the required number of signatures, making a referendum likely in the coming months. A Yes vote would blow a big hole in western unity in the struggle against Putin’s Moscow.
Switzerland’s military neutrality has roots going back to the 13th century and has been officially recognised internationally since 1815. The country also has the most pervasive system of direct democracy in the world, meaning referendums and popular votes occur every few months at national, regional and local levels.
Any idea from the public can be put to a national vote as long as it gathers 100,000 signatures in this wealthy nation of 8.8 million people.
On Thursday, a delegation for the “Neutrality Initiative” handed its petition of 130,000 signatures to government officials in Bern. The initiative is driven by the right-wing populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the country’s largest political movement.
The movement proposes four new clauses aimed at more precisely defining what neutrality means in practice. The changes would prohibit Switzerland from joining any military alliance unless it was itself attacked.
The measures would also prevent the government from imposing or joining any form of coercive sanctions unless such measures had UN Security Council approval. Since Russia and China have a veto, that would, in practice, copper-fasten Moscow and Beijing’s financial and trade interests involving Switzerland.
Under the Swiss constitution, the federal parliament may first propose a compromise option, which the initiative’s organisers could choose to accept. Analysts consider such a climbdown to be unlikely, given the strong demands presented in the campaign proposals.
The SVP issued a strong statement welcoming the petition’s success so far. “If all states behaved like Switzerland, there would be no war,” the SVP said. The party added that Russian sanctions “are endangering the internal peace and stability of our country”, arguing that Switzerland is a unique success story.
The proposals come as Brussels is assessing the impact of another blow to sanctions on Wednesday, when the European court removed Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven from the EU sanctions list. Similar actions for other wealthy Russians are expected.
Despite Swiss reticence about international engagement (it only joined the UN in 2002), the country has been onside with the EU on restrictions against Russian individuals and companies connected to the Putin regime.
Russian assets in Swiss bank vaults have been frozen and the banks are banned from doing business with those under sanction. These unprecedented measures have raised questions about Switzerland’s response if relations between China and the West worsened.
Switzerland’s financial sector has gained huge investments from Chinese people in recent years. Russian sanctions, and a linked row over whether Switzerland should support Ukraine directly, have stoked national debate.
Conservatives, pacifists and free-market financiers have lined up against a largely younger generation of pro-Europeans and social liberals. Attending the presentation of petition signatures at the federal chancellery in Bern on Thursday, Christoph Blocher, the SVP’s billionaire financial backer, was accompanied by four bodyguards in anticipation of trouble.
Opinion polls suggest the neutrality debate is not a key concern for most Swiss people. But, as we have learned about referendums in Ireland, that can change as a campaign hots up, and this one could feed into Swiss debate about national identity and immigration.