Swiss Review 1/2019

Swiss Review / January 2019 / No.1 21 Politics JÜRG MÜLLER Swiss international relations, agriculture, insurance – it was a voting Sunday with a typically Swiss blend of topics. The Self-determination Initiative (SDI), a proposal by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) for Swiss law to take absolute precedence over international law, dominated the agenda. A vote in favour of the SDI would have altered the way in which Switzerland treats international agreements when- ever there is a conflict between Swiss constitutional law and international law. National law would have automati- cally taken precedence. Opponents said that this would have been like a straitjacket, preventing scope for flexible solutions and compromises. In their view, it would have jeopardised international treaties and undermined stabil- ity and legal certainty. In the end, the initiativewas overwhelmingly defeated with 66.2% opposing it. Compared to domestic voters, the proportion of Swiss Abroadwho rejected the proposal was even greater. The SVP could only mobilise their own elec- toral base. This is a remarkable outcome because it bucks the isolationist trend that is gaining momentum in many other countries. Burgeoning nationalism in places like the USA, the UK, Hungary, Poland and Italy has called overrid- ing legislation and the role of international organisations into question and seen increased support for the idea of “go- ing it alone”. A shattering defeat for the SVP On this occasion, things turned out differently in Switzer- land for a number of reasons. Formost voters, the issuewas probably too abstract and too disconnected fromreal every- day concerns. People also feared the economic andpolitical isolation, as well as the legal uncertainty that might ensue for a small country like Switzerland in an already fragile in- ternational environment. Warnings from opponents that approval of the initiativewouldhave ultimately resulted in Switzerland withdrawing from the European Convention onHumanRights are also likely to have played amajor role. This and other imponderables appear to have spooked the electorate and paved the way for a pragmatic “no” vote. It is a shattering defeat for the SVP, not least because it precedes an election year (see article on page 6). In the run-up to the ballot, SVP National Councillor Magdalena Martullo-Blocher referred to what she called “probably the most important vote since the refusal to join the Eu- ropean Economic Area” in 1992. More or less declaring the proposal to be one of her party’s key priorities, her re- marks increased the stakes. However, opponents of the in- itiative raised their game. Civil society groups were al- ready manoeuvring into position before petitioning for the SVP’s popular initiative began in 2015. By coordinat- A breath of fresh air for direct democracy On 25 November, the Swiss electorate torpedoed the SVP’s Self-determination Initiative and the Horned Cow Ini- tiative, but gave their backing to “social welfare detectives”. Civil society groups set the tone on all three issues. ing themselves at an early stage, Operation Libero and the civil society alliance Schutzfaktor M attracted the support of around 120 organisations and claimed the high ground for themselves. In the end, the SVP found themselves on their own because all the other political parties – and the umbrella organisation for the Swiss business sector, econ- omiesuisse – opposed the initiative. Probably realising how difficult the battle was going to be, the SVP dropped their familiar aggressive style and tried to appeal to the centre groundwith a softly-softly campaign. The SVP logo was nowhere to be seen on most posters and advertisements. Friendly young Swiss smiled from bill- boards instead, along with the sanitised slogans “Yes to self-determination” and “Yes to direct democracy”. A minor sensation for the “horned cow rebel” One of the SVP’s key campaign messages was that they wanted to strengthen direct democracy. The Horned Cow Initiative, on the other hand, was an impressive example of just how healthy Swiss direct democracy already is. Al- though the proposal was rejected, with 45.3% of votes in favour, it fared much better than an initiative tabled by the country’s biggest party – and thereby became aminor sensation. Magdalena Martul- lo-Blocher declared the Self-determina- tion Initiative to be one of the SVP’s key priorities. But her party suffered an emphatic defeat. Photo: Keystone