As the vote closes at noon on Sunday, the trends point to a clear endorsement of the government’s coronavirus policy. The final results will be announced in the late afternoon.

This content was published on Nov 28, 2021 – 12:59 PM
28 November 2021 – 12:59

Domhnall O’Sullivan

This is the second time this year that voters have played a direct role in responding to the crisis: in June, 60% supported the original text of the Covid-19 law, the legal framework for financial and medical measures taken by the government to cope with the pandemic.

On Sunday, five months later, as patient numbers and social tensions rise – and a new strain of the virus raises concerns – they again had the final say, this time on amendments to the law that include additional financial aid. for Covid certificate.

Research institute gfs.bern’s initial trends indicated clear acceptance, with the first projection – based on results from major municipalities – suggesting support could reach 63%.

“Ultimately, this is another confirmation of the government’s position,” said Urs Bieri of gfs.bern. He told public radio SRF that while the campaign was hotter this time around, voters made the decision based on their “daily experience” and their stance on issues such as vaccinations and certification, rather than what political groups say. about what.

Although the law contains several measures, in particular the certificate (which restricts access to many public places for people who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested) has been the focus of high-profile opposition protests since its introduction in mid-September.

On Sunday morning, police, also on high alert, took the unusual step of blocking the streets around the parliament building in Bern. The police also erected a protective barrier in front of the parliament building in preparation for possible demonstrations that some opponents are calling online.

warriors of freedom

In the first reaction of the opposition camp, Josef Ender, representing a group of Covid critics in central Switzerland, said on Sunday that even if defeated, “it is very important to hold a referendum” and held a public debate over what his group calls the “power” of the Covid law.

And while they “accept” the democratic outcome, Ender added that their opposition to the law, which they claim violates constitutional articles, remains.

Opponents, who garnered 187,000 signatures to challenge the law (50,000 needed), have argued throughout the campaign that the law and certificate pose a threat to individual freedoms and social harmony, and that they amount to a commitment to vaccinate against the facts.

They also fear the treacherous power of government. The law gives the government “sole authority to decide on more restrictive or simpler measures,” Ender said at the start of the campaign.

His group, along with Friends of the Constitution and the Mass-Voll movement – groups that did not even exist before the pandemic – were also united by the country’s largest political group, the People’s Party (SVP / UDC, right), which passed the law in parliament, but has since criticized the issuance of the certificate.

“The certificate is the only reason the referendum was announced,” Jean-Luc Addor of the People’s Party told RTS. Addor said his party is not opposed to the bailout measures provided for by the law, which could easily be re-approved by parliament; it was against what he called “ever deeper immersion in a kind of authoritarian regime.”

Get vaccinated and stop complaining

The yes field was quieter. Supporters of the law, led by the government and all major political groups with the exception of the People’s Party, said the alternative to the certificate is to shut down society and the economy altogether.

“We want to get out of this situation,” Interior Minister Alain Berset said during a debate on SRF TV. The frequent changes to the Covid bill, including those due to be voted on Sunday, give the government the ability to make decisions in a rapidly changing context, he said.

Officials also warned that bailout measures to help troubled businesses and self-employed workers – especially in the cultural sector – along with new measures to increase the state’s purchasing power for medicine would be lost if the answer was no.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who has often tried to play the role of public broker in the pandemic, said during the campaign that while he understands people’s frustration, rejecting the Covid law would be tantamount to “throwing a baby in the bathtub with water.”

Other supporters, including a group of “free-thinkers” commonly known as secular protesters, launched a campaign under the slogan “Get the shot and stop complaining.” While they had far less money at their disposal than the well-endowed No campaign, some of their cartoons also graced porches and billboards across the country in the weeks leading up to the vote.

social cracks

It was a hot campaign, and with statements and protests that were sometimes aggressive, the atmosphere in the race remained tense until the vote. Michael Hermann, whose Sotomo Institute conducted regular Covid surveys for the Swiss Broadcasting Society (parent company of SWI swissinfo.ch), told the Bund newspaper that “I have never experienced such a deep social divide.”

The growing position was also seen in opinion polls conducted by gfs.bern in advance of the vote: although the final poll on November 7 showed 61% in favor of the law and 38% against, only 1% were still undecided. “- a much smaller amount than usual, and evidence that people have already made a decision on this issue for some time.

Ultimately, “the most important factor for the typical voter is whether he or she is vaccinated against Covid,” gfs.bern analyst Martina Musson said ahead of the vote. In Switzerland, about 67% of the population is fully vaccinated; this figure is estimated to be even higher among those eligible to vote.