Swiss voters are being asked to listen to their feelings ahead of an anti-immigration vote taking place this Sunday, particularly “the growing feeling of not being in one’s own country”. The main message of the “yes” campaign is that Switzerland is full. The country just cannot take any more foreigners, we are told.
Who are these foreigners? They are not your neighbours, colleagues, friends, your spouse, your mechanic, your doctor, your carer. Ordinary foreigners living ordinary lives are invisible to the proponents of this vote. They get no thanks for existing, let alone being net contributors to Swiss society and economy.
Because the rhetoric is about “mass migration” which portrays foreigners as a destructive force: foreign children ruining the education of Swiss children, foreign residents destroying nature by paving over Swiss countryside to build their homes, foreign drivers causing traffic jams, foreign criminals inflicting violence on the natives, “Islamic culture and foreign values being imported”.
These examples come directly from the official vote material distributed to all voters. The booklet provides the initiative committee with a channel to explain the reasoning behind their proposal, while the position of the government and parliament is also laid out (in both cases against).
The so-called “Sustainability Initiative” is fundamentally dishonest in that it is not about providing solutions to anything, sustainable or otherwise. It is about sowing division in society by encouraging the Swiss to blame their problems on others. It is about sowing chaos by forcing the country to break international agreements that would cause untold damage to Switzerland’s reputation and economy. Destruction is fine for the Swiss People’s Party as long as they are the ones causing it.
The last time the Swiss voted on an absolute cap on immigration was the Schwarzenbach Initiative in 1970. The proposal then (ultimately rejected) was to reduce the immigrant population to 10%. At the time the proportion of foreigners was 16%, mostly southern Europeans. These days, the proportion of foreigners permanently resident in Switzerland is 28%, mostly EU citizens. Immigration is largely a regional phenomenon from Switzerland’s natural hinterland.
I was interviewed about the vote by Derek Scally of The Irish Times. You can read his thorough article here, which explains more about the details and potential consequences of the proposal. I hope that Swiss voters will see through the trick and reject the initiative. As I’ve said before, we need bridges to be built between the Swiss and foreign population, not fences.
There is no returning to the fantasy land where only the Swiss get to enjoy Swiss success while guest workers (yes, this is in the proposal) have to live on the edge of society, separated from their families. If the campaigners for “sustainability” really want to change the dynamic, they should invent a way of having a well-functioning economy without having to rely on constant growth. Stop growth and you’ll stop immigration. And everyone will be happy, right?
Here are some posters from both camps that I photographed in Geneva a couple of weeks ago. You may detect some romanticism on both sides. I’m so tired of this topic and look forward to the day when I do not have to write in defence of foreigners in Switzerland anymore. Hopefully a “no” vote on Sunday will bring us a step closer to that wish.
Clare O'Dea 
Thanks for your clear analysis of the situation. Indeed, the same people who are anxious to get rid of foreigners and keep Switzerland for the Swiss do nothing to promote a more sustainable future with limited growth, improved public transportation, budgets to cover the education of future doctors and nurses without recourse to foreigners who currently make a critical difference to the lives of the Swiss. The Swiss economy is dependent upon its close ties with Europe; if the current bilateral agreements are broken, the Swiss will pay a huge price for the loss of commercial, social, educational and scientific benefits. ” No man is an island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main… ” John Donne’s words are as true today as ever before.
Thank you for commenting, Pam! The whole anti-EU thing is some kind of syndrome. Comes from a very negative place, feelings of superiority etc.
You’ve echoed my feelings about this terrible and irrational proposal, Clare, and Pam makes great points, too. Yes, I think we have some problems to solve when it comes to integration, but this anti-immigrant vote is no solution. As you’ve pointed out, it would create enormous problems and solve none. I believe strongly that we have to do a much better job of giving newcomers to Switzerland the languages and job skills they need to fit more comfortably into Swiss society, but that would cost more money than any of the parties are willing to spend. This is not just a Swiss problem; it’s a European one.
Well done Clare. Truly appreciate your thinking and this article.