Neutrality: 70% reject Blocher's initiative (cross-border guide)

Context

In brief

• 70% rejected the neutrality initiative
• The no vote strengthens the position of the Federal Council
• The press speaks of a defeat for Christoph Blocher
• Blocher's campaign cost almost 4 million francs

• Subject → neutrality initiative
• Outcome → 70% opposed
• Main figure → Christoph Blocher
• Financing → almost 4 million francs
• Political effect → endorsement of the policy of Parliament and the Executive

The 70% of no votes recorded at the polls yesterday is being read by the Swiss media as the chronicle of a foretold defeat. The clear rejection strengthens the position of the Federal Council and personally hits Christoph Blocher.

The newspapers' reading

«The 70% of no votes is an unappealable verdict for those who were aiming for rigid neutrality for its own sake,» writes Corriere del Ticino.

The daily interprets the result as an endorsement of the policy of Parliament and the Executive and believes that the initiative has closed every serious avenue for a revival. La Regione reaches a similar assessment: the vote prevents neutrality from being turned into a dogma and returns it to the role of an instrument of Swiss foreign policy, to be used flexibly according to global circumstances.

NZZ also speaks of an unappealable result. The Zurich daily recalls that Blocher's initiative, financed with almost 4 million francs, would not have stood a chance from the outset.

For the Swiss-German publications of the Tamedia group, the defeat is personal: the former democentrist Federal Councillor would not even have convinced his own party. Blick reads the vote as a gradual transition away from the patriarch of the UDC. According to the newspaper, the next dossier will be that of the European Union and will likely be entrusted to Magdalena Martullo-Blocher.

La Liberté speaks of a thrashing inflicted by the people and a signal to Blocher; Le Temps emphasizes that his commitment and the millions he personally spent were not enough. The publications of the ESH group recall that a popular majority is more difficult to buy than posters and advertisements.

Le Temps finally links the no vote to the UDC's third defeat of the year and sees in it a resounding yes to the way the Federal Council applies neutrality: according to the newspaper, it is the first time that this approach has received popular endorsement on such a scale. To follow the topic together with the other national dossiers, the site also offers the guide on costo della vita in Svizzera.

Operational details

What the vote indicates for Swiss politics

The most concrete issue concerns the way neutrality is defined and used. The rejected proposal aimed for rigid neutrality as an end in itself; the prevailing reading in the newspapers instead considers neutrality an important, but not absolute, instrument of Swiss foreign policy. For the Federal Council, Parliament and the Executive, the result therefore represents an endorsement of the policy pursued.

Before and after the vote

The comparison shows the scope for discussion after the vote. It is not merely a matter of determining whether neutrality should remain an important principle, but of deciding how to employ it when circumstances in the world change. The Regione's reading insists precisely on this point: a means must be usable with the necessary flexibility, without becoming a dogma. This is the most concrete political consequence described by the press review.

The national dimension also emerges from the comparison between the newspapers. The Ticino newspapers speak of an unequivocal verdict and of the closing of any possibility of relaunching the initiative. The NZZ emphasizes the lack of any chance from the outset. Tamedia and Blick interpret the result as a personal defeat for Blocher and as a possible distancing of the SVP from its patriarch. La Liberté, Le Temps and the ESH group, on the other hand, emphasize the weight of the popular vote compared with the campaign financed by the former federal councillor.

The perspective on the European Union must be kept separate from the result already established. Blick points to the next European dossier and speculates about a role for Magdalena Martullo-Blocher, but the source presents this passage as a journalistic prediction. The already-established political fact remains popular support for the neutrality applied by the Federal Council. To avoid confusing the institutional sphere with the personal economic one, the site also makes costo della vita in Svizzera available.

Useful tools to protect your net income

To reduce FX leakage, compare CHF-EUR exchange options and banks for cross-border workers.

Key points

How to follow the dossier after the vote

To read developments without confusing facts and commentary, a simple procedure can be used. The press review already offers all the necessary elements: an election result, the reaction of the institutions and different interpretations of the UDC’s future.

1. Separate the fact from the assessment. The central fact is the rejection of the neutrality initiative, with 70% of votes against it. Expressions such as total defeat, thrashing or drubbing instead belong to the interpretation of the individual newspapers.

2. Identify the institutional level. The result is linked to the position of the Federal Council and the policies of Parliament and the Executive. This is the reference to look for when reading the next updates on neutrality.

3. Compare the areas of the press. Corriere del Ticino and la Regione emphasize the flexibility of the instrument; NZZ the initiative’s lack of chances; Tamedia and Blick Blocher’s personal defeat; Le Temps, La Liberté and the ESH group the weight of the popular majority.

4. Distinguish the result from the forecasts. The possible transfer of the European Union dossier to Magdalena Martullo-Blocher is presented by Blick as a likely development, not as a decision already announced.

5. Check the meaning attributed to neutrality. The line supported by la Regione and Le Temps considers it a tool of foreign policy, to be applied flexibly, not a rigid and autonomous end.

This method helps follow Swiss politics without attributing consequences to the vote that the source does not describe. When the topic shifts from federal balances to personal management, dichiarazione delle imposte can be consulted. For a quick check of your own financial situation, use calcolatore stipendio.

Source: swissinfo.ch