It is expected that the 'neutrality strengthening' constitutional amendment in neutral Switzerland, which would strictly limit cooperation with military and defense alliances or participation in independent sanctions by the international community, will be rejected in a referendum.
According to AFP and Reuters on the 27th (local time), an exit poll by public broadcaster SRG and public opinion pollster GFS Bern immediately after the referendum on strengthening neutrality held in Switzerland on this day predicted that 71% of the opposition was predicted.
The key point of this referendum is to stipulate permanent military neutrality in the constitution and strictly limit the government's authority to arbitrarily interpret and implement neutrality depending on the situation.
If the amendment is passed, the Swiss government will be completely prohibited from imposing independent sanctions for reasons such as armed conflict unless there is a UN Security Council resolution.
Additionally, cooperation with military and defense alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is only permitted in situations where Switzerland is directly attacked. In effect, this means that the status of a permanent neutral country will be further solidified in a closed manner.
Switzerland has been recognized as an internationally neutral country since immediately after the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. However, the Constitution does not specify how the government should implement this neutrality.
Previous Swiss governments have interpreted neutrality flexibly in accordance with the international situation. Although it does not join NATO or the European Union (EU), it participates limitedly in NATO's peace partnership or international peacekeeping missions.
The right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), which favors strengthening neutrality, argues that Switzerland's traditional neutral position has been shaken by its participation in sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. The pro-choice camp raised the slogan ‘Oppose war, pro-neutrality.’
The Swiss government has adopted most of the 20 sanctions packages against Russia announced by the EU since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022. This is a very different move from the country's refusal to participate in sanctions when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014, and some criticized Switzerland for abandoning its neutrality by siding with Ukraine.
On the other hand, the Swiss federal government and most political parties have strongly opposed this constitutional amendment.
“Neutrality has always been applied with a certain degree of flexibility,” Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in a recent TV debate. “Neutrality is not indifference.”
Regarding the exit poll results on this day, Green Party lawmaker Siebel Arsland said, "Voters have realized what the SVP wants," and added, "It is an attempt to isolate Switzerland internationally and avoid responsibility even in a situation where international law is being trampled."
Opposition prevailed in several opinion polls conducted before the referendum. A public opinion poll by public broadcasters SRG and GFS Bern showed 34% in favor and 63% opposed.
Fabio Wasserphalen, a professor of European politics at the University of Bern, told Reuters: "Swiss voters like neutrality, but they also approve of the way the current government is implementing neutrality."
