ZURICH: Switzerland on Sunday rejected a proposal to cap its population at 10 million, a projection showed, as voters prioritised economic stability and ties with the European Union over worries immigration was straining public services and pushing up rents.
The projection by national broadcaster SRF, which traditionally calls referendum votes, showed about 45 percent of voters came out in favour of the proposal and 55 percent against.
The vote, which was likened to Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, had put businesses on edge due to concerns it could end the free movement of labour between Switzerland and the EU, the country’s main trading partner.
The proposal, championed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, stipulated that the population must not exceed 10 million before 2050, and that if it did so for two years, Switzerland should end freedom of movement with the EU.
Urs Bieri from polling firm GFS Bern said the initiative failed to pass because although concern about population growth is widespread, people were not convinced by the plan and were worried about possible side-effects.
“Voters were worried about negative consequences for Switzerland’s relationship with the EU and for the labour market,” he said.
“People are also worried about things like having enough care and health workers. Also there’s a feeling that in the current international environment it’s not sensible for a small country to do this,” Bieri added.
The Swiss population already stands at 9.1 million and has grown far more quickly than in the surrounding EU. Foreigners make up nearly 28 percent of the Swiss population, which official projections forecast will reach 10 million by the early 2040s.
Polls had forecast a close outcome, and the result tallied with a final survey by GFS Bern, which had predicted the proposal would be narrowly rejected.
Still, the backing for the measure sits alongside growing support for policies aimed at curbing immigration across Europe. Campaign posters proclaimed only 10 percent of incomers were skilled workers and that asylum seekers were more likely to be rapists.
Marcel Dettling, president of the Swiss People’s Party, told SRF the initiative had been very popular in rural areas, but had been ultimately been defeated by urban voters.
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