The result comes as no surprise: in the referendum held in Switzerland on Sunday, neither the planned extension of compulsory national service to women nor the introduction of a tax on very large inheritances and gifts received a majority. According to the afternoon count, the compulsory national service proposal did not even achieve 20 per cent support in most cantons.
Both initiatives would have entailed far-reaching changes, but had already been widely criticised in the run-up to the vote.
Military and civilian service in Switzerland
The Swiss system of so-called “compulsory service” was at the centre of the first proposal. In Switzerland, young men are obliged to perform military service or join civil defence. Those who refuse to serve can do alternative civilian service. Those who completely refuse to serve pay a substitute service fee. In total, around 35,000 men complete their compulsory service every year.
The failed initiative wanted to extend this obligation to all Swiss citizens – regardless of gender. Although women can currently do voluntary military service, they are not obliged to do either civil or military service.
“We want to strengthen Switzerland’s security and cohesion in the long term,” Noémie Roten told German TV programme Tagesschau. The young woman from Solothurn, who played a key role in driving the initiative forward and has done military service herself, also linked it to the goal of greater gender equality: compulsory service, according to the idea, should apply to everyone in future – whether in the military, civil defence or civilian service.
Those in favour also pointed to growing challenges such as landslides, floods, cyber attacks and the security situation in Europe. They argued that a broad-based mandatory service could strengthen Switzerland’s resilience to crises.
Politically, however, the initiative remained isolated. An unusually broad alliance from the Social Democrats to the right-wing SVP rejected it. Critics emphasised that women are already responsible for a large proportion of unpaid childcare and care work and should not be subject to additional obligations. There were also warnings of high costs and economic losses because many young people would temporarily leave the labour market.
Tax for the “super rich”
A second bill was also put to the vote. “The ultra-rich inherit billions, we inherit crises,” with this slogan, the Young Socialists (Juso) campaigned in favour of a national inheritance and gift tax on wealth transfers over CHF 50 million (€53.5 million).
The revenue should primarily be channelled into climate protection. “It’s about the polluter pays principle,” said Juso President Mirjam Hostetmann. In the view of the initiators, the “super-rich” are responsible for a large proportion of climate-damaging emissions.
The initiative entitled “For a social climate policy – fairly financed through taxation (Initiative for a future)” would have meant a clear break with Switzerland’s traditionally decentralised, fiscally restrained system.
However, only around 2,500 people in the country with assets of more than CHF 50 million would have been affected.
Nevertheless, the federal authorities warned of negative consequences. Such a tax could reduce the country’s attractiveness for internationally mobile assets. The original draft even envisaged retroactive application, which triggered fierce opposition from business organisations and tax lawyers and was later toned down.
According to the Financial Times, individual companies and wealthy private individuals are already examining the possibility of moving out of Switzerland. Economists and lawyers also warned that the regulation could make succession planning for family businesses more difficult. Peter Spuhler, owner of Stadler Rail, publicly labelled the initiative “a disaster for Switzerland”.
Direct democracy in Switzerland
Both votes are held in the context of direct democracy, which is particularly strong in Switzerland. National referendums are held four times a year. The referendum is a key instrument: it allows the population to decide on new laws or political decisions. Since the introduction of the optional referendum in 1874, around 200 such votes have been held, of which roughly 40 per cent have failed.
An optional referendum is held if 50,000 valid signatures are collected against a new law within 100 days; the majority of voters then decide on its entry into force. There is also a mandatory referendum, for example for constitutional amendments, for which a double majority of votes and cantons is required. Similar regulations also apply in the cantons and municipalities.