114,600. This is the number of signatures collected in just nine months by the federal anti-immigration popular initiative of the Democratic Center Union (UDC), the main right-wing party in Switzerland. Named
“No Switzerland at 10 million!”,
the initiative, which the Helvetians were able to sign online until the date of its submission to the Federal Chancellery on Wednesday April 3, aims to include in the Constitution the limitation of the country's permanent resident population to
"ten million people before the year 2050"
. To be admissible, a popular initiative must collect 100,000 signatures in 18 months.
For the UDC, which hails a
“frantic success”
,
“practically all the problems from which Switzerland suffers are due to uncontrolled mass immigration”,
details the party in a press release published on April 4. And the list of ills from which the Swiss Confederation would suffer is long:
“increasing crime, explosion of social costs, shortage of housing, increase in rents and health insurance premiums, decline in quality in our schools, traffic jams and public transport overloaded...".
The party plans preventive measures as soon as the threshold of 9.5 million inhabitants is reached...
“If the permanent resident population of Switzerland exceeds nine and a half million people before the year 2050, the Federal Council (the government of country, Editor's note) and the Federal Assembly (the equivalent of Parliament in France, Editor's note), within the limits of their respective powers, take measures, in particular in matters of asylum and family reunification, with a view to ensuring compliance with the fixed limit value”
, is included in the popular initiative. If the bar of 10 million residents were to be exceeded, the Swiss authorities would be forced, to stem immigration, to
“denounce”
and demand
“derogatory measures”
from international treaties such as the
agreement
on the free movement of people. of the European Union.
“It will take several years before the popular vote”
There is still a long way to go before the text is presented to the Swiss population. Like any initiative, this must first be validated by the Federal Chancellery which ensures the validity of the signatures. Secondly, the Federal Council - government - must issue an opinion or propose a counter-project. Parliament must then decide on the validity of the initiative or counter-proposal. It is only after these steps have been completed that the popular vote can take place.
“The government (Federal Council) and the Parliament (the two Chambers) will take a position on them, but it will then be the people who will have the last word.”,
reminds Le
Figaro
, Pascal Sciarini, professor at the University of Geneva . At this stage, the timetable is still unclear.
“It will take several years before the popular vote (referendum), and the delay varies depending on whether or not parliament puts forward a counter-proposal,”
specifies the doctor in political science.
With this popular initiative, Switzerland's leading party is returning to the charge. In 2020, he suffered a failure with his so-called
“limitation”
initiative . The text, rejected by nearly 62% of the electorate, provided for ending the agreement on the free movement of people with the EU within twelve months. The populist party accuses the
"center-left policy carried out at the Federal Palace
(place where the seats of the Federal Council and the Federal Assembly are located, editor's note)
"
by
"the PS, the Greens, the PRD, the Center and the Vert'liberaux"
to refuse to put in place a popular initiative on mass immigration approved by the people and the cantons on February 9, 2014. A change in the Constitution which requires that "Switzerland autonomously manages
the immigration of foreigners”
thanks to the definition of quotas
“set according to the overall economic interests of Switzerland and in compliance with the principle of national preference”
.
According to figures from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, immigration broke all records in 2023.
“At the end of the year, there were 263,800 immigrations, combining those of the Swiss (22,100) and people from foreign nationality (241,700), an increase of 38.2% compared to 2022
,” reports the organization in a press release published on April 4. This immigration contributes to making the country's demographic balance largely in surplus. The permanent resident population of Switzerland amounted to 8,960,800 people as of December 31, 2023 compared to 8,815,400 at the end of 2022 (+145,400 people, or +1.6%), according to the same study. If population growth continues at this rate, the threshold of 10 million will be exceeded within 6 to 7 years.