Switzerland votes on population cap of 10 million

Swiss voters are set to decide on a referendum that proposes capping the nation's population at 10 million residents. The initiative, known as "No 10 Million Switzerland (Sustainability Initiative)," is driven by the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party (SVP). The SVP wants to implement measures to prevent the population from exceeding 10 million by 2050, with actions to be taken once the number reaches 9.5 million.

The SVP, which emerged as the largest party in the last national election, campaigned on the message that "too many – and the wrong – foreigners are coming." This sentiment fuels the proposal, which primarily targets asylum and family reunification policies as means to restrict population growth. Magdalena Martullo-Blocher, vice president of the SVP, stated that the initiative would send a clear message, arguing that a significant number of foreigners gain the right to permanent residency and may live on social benefits without working.

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690,000 foreigners instantly get the right to permanent residency. They stay in Switzerland forever – even if they never work again, live on social benefits and even if they commit crimes. Therefore, the Swiss electorate should now send a clear message by voting yes to the sustainability initiative.

During the campaign, the SVP has depicted dystopian scenarios for classrooms, traffic, and public services if the population, currently around 9.1 million, reaches the proposed limits. The party points to a nearly 2 million increase in residents over the past 20 years and notes that 27 percent of the population consists of foreign nationals.

Conversely, opponents emphasize that the majority of this foreign-born population comprises Europeans. They warn that demographic changes could damage Switzerland's agreements and relationships with allies, including EU security cooperation and the principle of free movement. Social Democratic parliamentarian Helin Genis argued that focusing on migration distracts from real solutions to issues like housing costs and health insurance premiums, leading to division rather than addressing problems like low birth rates, which affect essential services.

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It is not immigrants who determine rent levels or raise health insurance premiums, nor is it immigrants who make political decisions about housing, infrastructure or social investments. Viewing the problems from a migration perspective does not lead to solutions, but to division.