A new nationwide survey published on 29 April by Swiss public broadcaster SRG/SSR and the newspapers 20 Minuten/Tamedia suggests that 52 percent of voters would back the Swiss People’s Party’s (SVP) “No to a Switzerland of 10 million” initiative if the referendum were held today. 46 percent said they would vote ‘No’, while the remaining 2 percent are undecided. The initiative obliges the Federal Council to keep Switzerland’s permanent resident population below ten million until at least 2050. If the ceiling is breached, Bern would have to terminate the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons with the EU and re-introduce quantitative limits for all new residence permits—including those for EU/EFTA citizens, intra-company transferees and cross-border commuters. Business federations and most cantonal governments warn that a hard cap would intensify Switzerland’s chronic skills shortage. Swissmem, the engineering lobby, calculates that up to 460 000 full-time jobs could stay vacant by 2035, undermining key export sectors such as machinery, med-tech and pharmaceuticals. Opponents also fear retaliation from Brussels, jeopardising Switzerland’s participation in Horizon Europe, Erasmus+ and public procurement markets. Supporters counter that immigration-driven growth is straining housing, transport and healthcare infrastructure and driving up living costs in urban cantons. They insist the initiative still allows limited immigration for “critical functions”, but critics note the text contains no carve-outs for highly-skilled staff or family unification. With the vote scheduled for 14 June, both camps are racing to mobilise expatriate Swiss and internationally mobile professionals. Employers with large foreign workforces are already advising HR teams to accelerate work-permit renewals and contingency-plan for quota restrictions should the electorate endorse the cap.
Source: SWI swissinfo.ch
