Swiss voters reject bid to enshrine stricter neutrality by big margin
A campaign poster reading “No war, Yes to Swiss neutrality” in Epagny, near Fribourg, Switzerland, on Sept 25.
Swiss voters rejected a bid to enshrine stricter neutrality in the constitution, preserving the government’s freedom to interpret the doctrine flexibly and maintain sanctions against Russia.
The initiative received about 31 per cent support, with 69 per cent voting against it, according to early government results on Sept 27 as ballots were still being counted. The outcome broadly matched final polls.
While Swiss neutrality has been internationally recognised since the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815, how the government implements it is not spelt out.
The proposal would have declared Switzerland’s neutrality “eternal and armed”, barred the country from joining military alliances and prevented it from imposing sanctions not approved by the United Nations.
The initiative was a response to Switzerland’s decision to mirror European Union sanctions against Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Supporters argued that the move breached the country’s neutrality – a view echoed by Moscow, which urged Swiss voters to back the proposal.
The government, parliament and all major parties except the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, or SVP, opposed the initiative. Former SVP leader Christoph Blocher spent 2 million francs (S$3.1 million) campaigning for it.
“Switzerland has not had a war for 200 years because it is permanently armed and neutral,” said the billionaire businessman.
“But neutrality has been followed less and less in recent years,” he told Reuters, with Russia now seeing Switzerland as a party to the conflict because of the sanctions.
The vote was not a verdict on neutrality itself, which remains widely supported. Instead, it preserves the government’s ability to apply the doctrine pragmatically rather than bind it via stricter constitutional rules.
Fabio Wasserfallen, a professor of European politics at the University of Bern, said: “Swiss voters like neutrality, but they approve of how the government is implementing it at present.
“They are also generally in favour of the sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, and don’t want that to change.”
It is the second SVP-backed initiative voters have rejected in 2026. In June, they turned down a proposal to cap Switzerland’s population at 10 million. Under the country’s system of direct democracy, voters can be called to the polls up to four times a year.
In a separate ballot on Sept 27, voters also rejected a plan to produce more food locally. The proposal, which would have indirectly reduced domestic meat production, received just 24 per cent support. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
