Switzerland is set to hold a landmark vote on a right-wing party’s proposal to limit the population to 10 million people amid continuing divisions over immigration.
The proposal, proposed by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), Switzerland’s largest political group, calls for the government to act before the current population of 9.1 million reaches the proposed 10 million cap.
If the vote, scheduled for June 14, passes, the government will have to refuse entry to new arrivals, including asylum seekers and families of foreign residents, once the population reaches 9.5 million.
If the population reaches 10 million, the government will be forced to abandon its free movement agreement with the European Union, Switzerland’s biggest trading partner.
Although Switzerland is not a member of the EU, it is integrated through more than 120 bilateral agreements, allowing access to the EU single market, free movement of people and trade in goods.
The senior vice president, who has led every election since 1999, claims Switzerland is undergoing a “population explosion” that is straining public services, straining infrastructure and raising rents.
The party is the only member of the Federal Executive Council that supports population control. The Federal Council is a seven-seat coalition that makes decisions by majority vote and votes against the initiative.
But a poll conducted last year by Swiss-based pollster Leewas showed widespread support for the proposal.
Under Switzerland’s referendum system, proposals can be put to a public vote if they collect at least 100,000 signatures from voters within 18 months.
In a post on his X account, the senior vice president shared what appears to be an AI-generated image of wealthy people toasting champagne on thrones above a crowd of disgruntled workers, urging Swiss voters to vote in favor of the motion. The caption read: “While a small number of economic elites benefit from excessive immigration, the majority of Swiss citizens suffer.”
