Swiss referendums, 2016

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Several referendums will be held in Switzerland during 2016, one of which involves the proposal to introduce a basic income.

February referendums

On 28 February 2016, referendums were held on four initiatives:[1]

  1. Popular initiative of 5 November 2012 "For the couple and the family - No to the penalty of marriage", proposed by the Christian Democrats. It would have prohibited discrimination in taxes for married couples (who pay more in certain circumstances) compared to other cohabiting couples, but it would also have added the definition of marriage being "the union of a man and a woman".[2] Opposition to the initiative was mainly because it would make opening marriage to same-sex couples no longer possible under the constitution.
  2. Popular initiative of 28 December 2012 "For the effective expulsion of foreign criminals", proposed by the Swiss People's Party which claimed it would provide full implementation of an initiative approved in a November 2010 referendum.[3] Foreigners who commit a crime would be automatically expelled from the country, regardless of the severity of the crime.
  3. Popular initiative of 24 March 2014 "No speculation on food", proposed by the Young Socialists.[4]
  4. Modification of 26 September 2014 of the federal law on road transit in the Alpine region (Reconstruction of the Gotthard road tunnel). It allows building a second road tunnel in order for the current tunnel to be reconstructed.[5] This government plan was challenged to a referendum by opposition groups who fear the four lanes would eventually be used, increasing traffic, and who considered it too costly.[5]

The government recommended the rejection of all three popular initiatives, but recommended approval of the amendments to the federal law on road transit in the Alpine region. The vote results followed these recommendations, with higher voter turnout than usual.

Results

Question For Against Invalid/
blank		 Total
votes		 Registered
voters		 Turnout Cantons for Cantons against Result
Votes % Votes % Full Half Full Half
For the couple and the family1,609,15249.21,664,22450.880,6433,354,0195,302,79763.215353 Rejected
Expulsion of foreign criminals1,375,09841.11,966,96558.937,5043,379,56763.733173 Rejected
No speculation on food1,287,78640.11,925,93759.9122,4553,336,17862.911195 Rejected
Gotthard road tunnel reconstruction1,883,85957.01,420,39043.061,3193,365,568 63.5 Accepted
Source: Government of Switzerland 1, 2, 3, 4

June referendums

Five propositions have been scheduled for referendum election on 5 June 2016:[6]

  1. A popular initiative for a basic income.[7]
  2. A popular initiative for fair transport financing. According to this initiative, the revenue from the mineral oil tax will be used exclusively for road construction.[8]
  3. A popular initiative for public service. Launched by four news and consumer rights magazines, this initiative seeks to improve public services by mandating that the government not set any profitmaking goals for public services, that any profits not fund the overall budget, and that public service directors do not earn more than the corresponding government minister.[9]
  4. A referendum on amendments to the medically assisted reproduction law.[10]
  5. A referendum on amendments to the federal asylum law.[11]

Basic income referendum

The discussion about basic income in Switzerland began in the 1980s, initially amongst academics such as sociologists who saw the potential to alleviate poverty better than the current system. But there was no major public debate in the 1980s nor the 1990s. In the early 2000s, however, things were slowly changing due to a spill-over from the German debate. Two basic income organizations were formed, "Initiative Grundeinkommen" and BIEN-Switzerland, and one Attac-group also became advocates. These organizations had some success, including some articles in national newspapers.[12] The petition calling for a referendum on basic income as a constitutional right was started in April 2012. After six months 42,000 people had signed, and by April 2013 there were approximately 70,000 signatures.[13] By October 2013 more than 130,000 citizens had signed, meaning a referendum on the issue had to be held. Publicity included a truck filled with eight million coins emptying the money in front of the Federal Palace in Bern.[14] Even though the initiative official text submitted to the vote does not specify any level, the campaigners have proposed is 2,500 Swiss francs for adults (about 1,650 USD at PPP in 2014) and 625 francs for children per month.[15][14][16]

References

  1. ↑ Abstimmungsvorlagen für den 28. Februar 2016, admin.ch
  2. ↑ Fenazzi, Sonia (2016-01-06). "Tax initiative in hot water over marriage definition - SWI". Swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  3. ↑ Raaflaub, Christian (2016-01-06). "Deportation initiative back before voters - SWI". Swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  4. ↑ Pauchard, Olivier (2016-01-06). "Bid to end financial speculation on foodstuffs - SWI". Swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  5. 1 2 Jorio, Luigi (2016-01-06). "Opposing views on doubling the Gotthard tunnel - SWI". Swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  6. ↑ Abstimmungsvorlagen für den 5. Juni 2016 Government of Switzerland
  7. ↑ Geiser, Urs (April 29, 2016). "Poll Finds Basic Income Proposal Doomed to Fail". Swissinfo. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  8. ↑ Siegenthaler, Peter (April 26, 2016). "Are Motorists the Cash Cows of Switzerland?". Swissinfo. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  9. ↑ Pauchard, Olivier (April 26, 2016). "Public Services In Voter Spotlight". Swissinfo. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  10. ↑ Miserez, Marc-André (April 14, 2016). "Swiss Vote Again On Genetic Screening". Swissinfo. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  11. ↑ Mombelli, Armando (April 26, 2016). "Political Right Tries to Block Asylum Reform". Swissinfo. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  12. ↑ The Basic Income Debate in Switzerland: Experiences and a Republican Perspective Basic Income
  13. ↑ Swiss parliament may soon debate unconditional basic income NNA, 30 April 2013
  14. 1 2 Swiss to vote on incomes for all - working or not BBC News, 18 December 2013
  15. ↑ PPP conversion factor, private consumption (LCU per international $) World Bank, International Comparison Program database
  16. ↑ Swiss to vote on guaranteed income for all The Local, 27 January 2016
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