GENEVA – Swiss voters flatly rejected two initiatives put to a referendum on Sunday: a proposal to extend mandatory national service for women and another to impose a 50% tax on inheritances and donations exceeding 50 million francs (about $62.2 million). Both measures, recommended by the government and parliament, were rejected by wide margins in almost all cantons.
According to the preliminary results. 84% of citizens Vote against The call ‘Citizen service initiative, which sought Replace current male military service with a universal model Where men and women must carry out defense, civil protection or climate and social support tasks. The proposal was also rejected before More than half of the cantonsThis is a prerequisite for the initiative to be approved in Switzerland.
The second proposal submitted for consultation is a new national income tax 50% on inheritances and donations exceeding 50 million francs-It was too Defeatedwith 78.2% voted against. No canton backed the project, promoted by the youth wing of the Socialist Party, which sought to allocate revenues to climate policies and finance the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050.
The rejection of the National Service Project reflects widespread institutional and economic resistance to this measure. Although supporters argued that the initiative would strengthen social cohesion and expand the concept of security to include areas such as climate protection, cyber defense or elderly care, Both the government and Parliament claimed to double the number of people recruited – From the current 35,000 to about 70,000 – It will exceed the country’s needs and will significantly increase the costs of the system. Added to this is the warning regarding A Potential distortion of the labor market: By forcing young people of productive age to suspend their activity, this measure could generate additional tensions in an already tight market with expectations of an aging population.
In Switzerland, men have been forced to perform military service or civil protection since the nineteenth century, while women can join voluntarily. Conscientious objectors can choose a longer civil service or pay a special fee. The rejected proposal also opened the possibility of integrating the stateless population if Parliament decided to do so, a point that raised concern among conservative sectors, which feared that the system would lose its historical and national character.
The discussion took place in A The European context is characterized by strengthening military capabilities in the face of the war in Ukraine. Neighboring countries, such as France, have announced expanded volunteer service programmes, seeking to increase national preparedness and resilience. However, in Switzerland – a country with a military tradition deeply entrenched in the concept of territorial defense – any change in regime provokes strong cultural resistance.
The tax initiative to impose a tax on large wealth also failed miserably. The promoters confirmed this It will raise between 4,000 and 6,000 million francs (about 5,000 and 7,500 million dollars) annually. and? It will affect about 2,500 people. All over the country.
However, The government warned that the measure could prompt rich taxpayers to leave – a particularly sensitive phenomenon in a country with a strong attraction for large assets – and Generating financial losses in the medium term. In addition, several cantons have warned that imposing a federal tax could change their fiscal independence, one of the pillars of Swiss federalism.
The project’s advocates emphasized that Switzerland’s 300 biggest fortunes concentrate assets roughly equivalent to the national GDP And according to environmental calculations, the “ultra-rich” produce more carbon dioxide in a few hours than the average citizen produces in his entire lifetime. But neither environmental nor social justice arguments have succeeded in reversing distrust toward a tax deemed excessive even within the progressive spectrum.
Switzerland holds national referendums four times a year, a central mechanism of its direct democracy that allows citizens to directly influence public policy-making. On this occasion, both initiatives failed to gain significant support, validating the continuity of the current military and financial model and demonstrating that Swiss voters, in times of uncertainty, choose to maintain the status quo.
AP Agency