Swiss Review 3/2019

Swiss Review / May 2019 / No.3 10 Politics STÉPHANE HERZOG “The residents of this country are asked to give their opinion on political mat- ters more frequently than anywhere else in the world,” states Nenad Sto- janovic, political scientist at the Uni- versityof Geneva. In theCityof Geneva, for example, over 70 subjects were put to the people between 2015 and 2018, over andabove the six federal, cantonal and municipal elections. Far fewer votes are held in France, where presi- dential and legislative elections take place once everyfive years. “There is no other opportunity for people to ex- press their discontent at a national level, and this leads todemonstrations like the yellowvest protests,” explains Stojanovic. “Voters in France use the Europeanelections to express their op- position to national politics, which is absurd,” underlines Lionel Marquis, head of the Research Group on Elec- tions and Political Citizenship (GREC) at the University of Lausanne. A record abstention rate Yet the Swiss people are irregular in their participation. The vote on acces- sion to theEuropeanEconomicArea in 1992 sawvoter turnout of 79%,whereas the vote at the end of 2012 on epizoot- ics saw only 25% participation. The complexity of subjects put to the peo- pleand the frequencyof votinggo some way toexplaining this irregularity. “It’s one of the lowest turnout rates in the world compared with other democra- cies,” states Marquis. “Participation typically varies between 35% and 45%, with 48%–50% considered high. In comparison, turnout at the last presi- dential elections in France was re- corded at 77% for the first round, and this was considered very low.” So, who votes and who doesn’t? “One quarter of Swiss people vote on every occasion, one fifth never vote, and the rest – accounting for 55%of the population – vote on a case by case ba- sis,” says Stojanovic. For the specialist in political participation, a voter turn- out rate of 25% is good, while an ab- stention rate of 20% does not make Switzerland an exceptional case. He considers the average turnout rate of 80% tobe “excellent”. Butwhydo some people choose never to give their opin- ion? “There are at least three different reasons: the first is disengagement with politics. This accounts for those who tend to confuse subjects andhave no particular knowledge of the sector. It’s the same idea as peoplewho skip to the sports section in a newspaper. The second reason is frustration. The peo- ple in this category may be the long- term unemployed, for example. They feel disillusioned. Finally, there are those who abstain from voting for ra- tional reasons. In this case, individuals consider that their vote will not have an impact on the outcome.” Low turnout, a sign of low dissatisfaction The low level of voter turnout does not worryMarquis. “It’s a sign that dissatis- faction is low amongst the population. People know that for important sub- jects, they will have multiple opportu- nities to give their opinion.” The politi- cal scientist notes a particularly high level of abstention amongst young peo- ple, which is an international phenom- enon.“Inthe2015federalelections,only 30%of18–24year-oldsvoted,compared with67%of 65–74year-olds: this affects the results,” explains Marquis. Stojano- vic recalls that “in the past, in the small municipalities, young peoplewould go tovotewiththeirfamilies.Butthisform of voter turnoutwas sociallyrestrictive and influenced voting”. The downside of Swiss politics? The lack of transparency regarding fi- nancing for parties and campaigns, says Stojanovic. This situation does not have a direct impact on voter turn- out, but rather on the forming of opin- ions. “The richest parties can influ- ence a vote, but this doesn’t guarantee victory,” he concludes. Switzerland consults its peoplemore than any other country The Swiss participate in up to 20 referendums per year. Approximately 80% of the population vote regularly, but participation per subject is very low, with the youth vote showing signs of stagnation despite initiatives such as easyvote. Nenad Stojanovic sees “excellent figures”: 80 per cent have turned out every time or at least occasionally. Photo provided Lionel Marquis: Low voter turnout is evi- dence “that the level of dissatisfaction is not very high”. Photo provided