Swiss Review / December 2021 / No.6 7 jected such an idea in the past. A popular initiative to this effect failed in 2009, with an emphatic 68 per cent voting against. The electorate also threw out a proposal over ten years later to ban the funding of arms manufacturers (see edition 5/2020 of “Swiss Review”), with almost 58 per cent voting no at the ballot box at the end of 2020. Lang nevertheless regards the “Correction Initiative” as a big step in the right direction. “Democratic control will improve, and the Federal Council will find it harder to loosen regulations,” he says. The government can no longer change the criteria on arms exports unilaterally. In future, parliament will be responsible for all relevant decisions. And the electorate will have the last word, as Lang is keen to stress. “After all, you can contest any law change by forcing a referendum.” Hence, parliament voted against granting the Federal Council special powers. The government wanted to continue wielding its escape clause “in order to safeguard national interests”. This door has been shut – and will remain shut. Arms manufacturers threaten exodus Switzerland’s arms manufacturers are not amused. “The implications are enormous,” warns Matthias Zoller, managing director of the Security and Defence Technology working group (ASUW), which represents the interests of arms companies. We will see an exodus of arms manufacturers from Switzerland in the medium term, predicts Zoller. There is notable competition fromthe EuropeanUnion, he adds. The EU is investing eight million euros in a scheme to attract arms companies – and “would welcome Swiss firms looking for a new base”. Under the future export regime, Switzerland will no longer be able to export “Democratic control will improve, and the Federal Council will find it harder to loosen export regulations.” Josef Lang High-precision cannons from Switzerland, such as the Oerlikon Skyshield air defence system, are one of arms manufacturer Rheinmetall’s exports. Photo: Rheinmetall Air Defence
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