Swiss voters reject far-right plan to cap population at 10 million
Swiss voters have decisively rejected a far-right proposal to cap the country’s population at 10 million people, with 54.79% voting against the Swiss People’s Party initiative in a referendum dubbed “the Swiss Brexit.”
Had it passed, the government would have been obliged to freeze population growth at 10 million by 2050 — triggering harsh curbs on immigration, family reunification and asylum — and, crucially, withdraw from its free movement agreement with the EU if the population hit 9.5 million before that deadline, potentially severing Switzerland’s access to the single market.
Turnout stood at 58.86%. Pollster Urs Bieri of GFS Bern told Reuters that voters, despite genuine concerns about population pressure on housing and infrastructure, ultimately baulked at the economic and diplomatic risks of picking a fight with Brussels while Switzerland’s population, currently at 9.1 million, has grown 23% since the EU free movement deal took effect in 2002.
No country has ever voted to limit its own population, according to The Guardian.
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