Swiss voters reject idea to strengthen neutrality in referendum. Country may continue to support sanctions against Russia

Swiss voters have rejected an initiative that would have tightened the countryʼs neutral status. Preliminary results from the referendum, held on September 27, showed about 31% in favor and 69% against.

Bloomberg writes about this.

The initiative would have enshrined the principle of “perpetual and armed” neutrality in the Swiss Constitution. If supported by citizens, Switzerland would not be able to join or cooperate with military alliances such as NATO, nor would it be able to impose sanctions against countries unless they were approved by the UN.

The initiative was prompted by Switzerlandʼs decision to join the European Unionʼs sanctions against Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Supporters of the proposal believed that such a move violated the countryʼs neutrality. This view was shared by Moscow, which urged the Swiss to vote in favor of the initiative.

Meanwhile, the government, parliament and all major political parties except the right-wing Swiss Peopleʼs Party (SVP) have opposed the proposal. Former SVP leader, billionaire Christoph Blocher, spent about two million francs ($2.4 million) on the campaign and its support.

The referendum result does not mean that the Swiss will abandon their neutral status. Instead, the country will maintain the current model, in which the government has more freedom to determine how to apply the principle of neutrality depending on the international situation.

This is the second failure of the SVP initiatives this year — in a referendum in June, voters also rejected a proposal to limit the countryʼs population to 10 million.

• Switzerlandʼs neutral status, internationally recognized in 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars, obliges the country not to participate in military conflicts, not to join military alliances or blocs, and not to provide its territory for military operations.
• Despite this, Switzerland can cooperate with military alliances without joining them, and also support international restrictions. For example, since the outbreak of full-scale war, it has joined the EU sanctions against Russia.

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