Make Switzerland neutral again
In Switzerland, a referendum initiative to amend the constitution has been launched to secure the country's neutrality policy. The "Neutrality Initiative" group successfully collected over 130,000 signatures supporting four points aimed at returning to Switzerland's strict historical neutrality. The initiators argue that this counters the covert propaganda aimed at diluting Swiss neutrality, justifying non-military coercive measures, such as those against Russia, or expanding military cooperation with NATO. Recent polls show 91% of citizens support the neutrality concept, a 7-point drop since January 2022, while for the first time in history, over half the respondents (55%, +10 points) approve of closer ties with NATO.
The petition for a national vote, expected in the coming months, has been backed by the conservative Swiss People's Party (UDC), the country’s largest political movement. In the autumn of 2023, the Eurosceptic UDC emerged as the main winner in the federal elections, gaining 27.9% of the votes, an increase of 2.3 points from 2019, while support for the Green and liberal factions significantly decreased.
If approved, the amendments will prohibit Switzerland from joining any military or defense alliance unless directly attacked, and from imposing or joining unilateral sanctions (economic and diplomatic) against other states without UN Security Council approval. Given Russia and China's veto power in the UN Security Council, these changes would raise questions about the legitimacy of Switzerland's current economic sanctions against Russia and potential trade restrictions against China.
(From Multipolar Market)
