Rejected biodiversity initiative enjoyed strong Swiss Abroad support

Keystone / Christian Beutler

The biodiversity initiative and the government-backed reform of the occupational pension scheme were soundly defeated in Sunday's vote in Switzerland. Analysis of the voting trends of Swiss citizens abroad reveals that they cast their votes very differently to people in Switzerland.

Sunday’s vote resulted in a double slap in the face for the two losing campaign teams: reform of the country’s occupational pension scheme was rejected by 67.1% of the electorate – and all cantons. And the popular initiative on biodiversity was turned down by 63% of voters. All but two cantons, Geneva and Basel City, rejected the idea of giving nature more space and resources.

The Swiss Abroad tend to vote differently than the Swiss resident population, although only 12 out of 26 cantons provide relevant statistics after a vote to be able to review this.

Previous votes on the environment and pension showed major differences of opinion between the two groups – and Sunday’s ballots were no exception.

Support for environment

In contrast to the situation at the national level, most Swiss voters abroad supported the biodiversity initiative.

Similar differences were observed during the June 2023 vote on the Climate Act (when the “yes” vote by the Swiss Abroad was much bigger than that of the resident population) and in June 2021 with the CO2 Act (narrowly rejected overall but approved by more than 72% of the Swiss Abroad.)

Other votes on the environment, such as the initiative “For a pesticide-free Switzerland” or “For clean drinking water”, were also clearly rejected by resident voters, but approved by the diaspora.

The breakdown by canton clearly shows this difference. The biodiversity initiative received over 50% of the Swiss Abroad vote in seven of the 12 Swiss Abroad districts, while it was only accepted in two cantons – Geneva and Basel City.

According to Martina Mousson, a political scientist at the gfs.bern research institute, a “pattern is emerging” whereby the Swiss Abroad vote more in favour of environmental issues.

“This has to do with the demographics of this group, which is generally more left-wing and more concerned about the environment. They also have a higher level of education and tend to approach issues with a more global vision,” she said. The fact that the “yes” vote won in the cantons of Geneva and Basel, “which are among the most urban and cosmopolitan in Switzerland”, supports this theory, she added.

Were the Swiss Abroad less exposed to the various campaign arguments? Mousson believes they were less concerned and less receptive to certain domestic issues raised by opponents, in particular the idea that the initiative would have exacerbated the housing shortage.

But the differences are not huge, she said, adding that it wasn’t so much the content of the proposal but rather “the ideological vision that people have of ecology”, that mattered.

A narrow “no” to the occupational pension reform

The “no” vote to the reform of the occupational pension scheme also dominated in all Swiss Abroad districts – like back home. But the rejection was not as big – quite the opposite.

The “yes” vote was reported in nine of the 12 districts for which statistics on the Swiss Abroad are available. Swiss Abroad voters from Geneva were the only ones to reject the reform outright. In the end, the “no” vote in all these districts abroad won by a margin of 600 votes.

On the issue of pensions, in the past Swiss Abroad voters have been more liberal than the resident population. This was the case last March, for example, when their rejection of a retirement age of 66 was weaker, or in September 2022, when the Swiss diaspora gave more support to raising the retirement age for women from 64 to 65.

The fact that such projects only marginally concern the Swiss Abroad certainly helps to explain the difference in voting behaviour. Another possibility is that, since the challenge of making pension systems sustainable is shared by most developed countries, expatriates may be a little more open to reform.

As to Sunday’s vote, it is also possible that the doubts about the urgency of reform, raised in Switzerland by the miscalculation of the forecast for the expenditure for the old age and survivors’ insurance (OASI) [state pension system], were less prevalent among the Swiss Abroad. “The Swiss Abroad were less immersed in this discussion and this atmosphere of mistrust,” said Mousson.

Weak mobilisation

At the national level, 44.5% of Swiss citizens turned out to vote, a lower turnout than in recent nationwide votes. The average turnout over the past five years has been just under 50%. Among the Swiss Abroad, turnout was also low: 20.7%, compared to an average of 25.6% for recent votes.

This low turnout could be a reflection of the complexity of the pension reform. “When they don’t feel in a position to judge, the Swiss tend to abstain from voting,” said Mousson.

Edited by Samuel Jaberg; adapted from French by DeepL/sb