Swiss voters reject capping population size

What happened

Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a referendum that would have capped the country’s population at 10 million by limiting migration. The initiative, proposed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, was voted down 55% to 45%, with 59% of voters participating. About 30% of Switzerland’s 9.1 million residents are foreign-born.

Who said what

Immigration “has long been a sensitive issue in Europe, as nations grapple with an aging population and increasing anti-foreigner sentiment,” The Associated Press said. But unlike in other European countries, most “foreigners in Switzerland are Europeans.” The Swiss People’s Party “favors limits on migration,” The New York Times said, but it “broadened the measure’s appeal by focusing on kitchen-table issues like housing costs and traffic congestion” in a bid to “appeal to centrist voters who otherwise view immigration positively.”

The referendum “was closely watched in Brussels,” Politico said. “A ‘yes’ vote would have set Switzerland on a collision course” with the European Union, jeopardizing free-movement and trade agreements.

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What next?

The size of the referendum’s defeat “appeared larger than most analysts had expected,” the Times said. Still, its “relatively narrow margin” will “heap pressure on the government to take more concerted action to address the public backlash to immigration,” Politico said.