Switzerland will hold a referendum on capping its population at 10 million – a move that could damage its economy and endanger lucrative agreements with the EU.
Swiss citizens will vote in June on the radical proposal put forward by the far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the government has confirmed. Switzerland’s permanent population currently stands at 9.1 million, having risen in recent years as foreign-born workers are drawn in by its high wages and good quality of life. The SVP, now the country’s largest political party, claims that the “population explosion” has pushed public services to breaking point.
Switzerland has one of the highest proportions of foreign-born residents in Europe at 27%, according to government figures. Since 2000, its population has grown by about 25%, faster than most neighbouring countries. Housing supply has struggled to keep pace, causing spiralling rents and shortages that have sharpened unease about immigration.
For years the SVP, which has finished first in every election since 1999, has repeatedly put forward hardline proposals, such as deporting any foreigner convicted of even a minor offence. But, it said, after an “influx of over 180,000 people in a single year, action must finally be taken”.
Critics point out that the party’s plan “imposes a hard cap” rather than setting out a “detailed quota or migration-management system”. It could also “derail” last year’s “carefully negotiated new deal between Bern and Brussels” to maintain Switzerland’s access to the EU’s single market and risk Switzerland’s place in the Schengen. It is, said business lobby group Economiesuisse, a “chaos initiative”. | 
