🇨🇭 Switzerland votes against enshrining strict neutrality

Swiss voters have rejected the "Safeguard Swiss Neutrality" initiative. Early results show roughly 69% against and 31% in favour.

The proposal would have written "permanent and armed" neutrality into the constitution, barred Switzerland from joining military alliances such as NATO, and restricted its participation in sanctions. That would have opened the door to lifting the anti-Russian measures Bern adopted from the EU in 2022.

The initiative was launched by Pro Schweiz, which has close ties to the Swiss People's Party. The campaign was led by the party's veteran figurehead Christoph Blocher, who argued that the EU sanctions had damaged Swiss neutrality and made Russia see Switzerland as a party to the conflict.

The outcome leaves the government free to keep interpreting neutrality "flexibly" and to maintain its sanctions on Russia.

🔴 @DDGeopolitics