Switzerland to vote on plan to cap population at 10 million
Key takeaways
- Imogen Foulkes Bern, Switzerland Reuters No-campaign posters feature Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, warning against "breaking with Europe"Can a country put a fixed limit on its population?
- The move is backed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party, which describes it as a "sustainability initiative" aimed at easing pressure on housing, public services and the environment.
- Switzerland's population has grown rapidly since 2002, when it stood at 7.3 million.
Why this matters: a developing story that could shape the day's news cycle.
Imogen Foulkes Bern, Switzerland Reuters No-campaign posters feature Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, warning against "breaking with Europe"Can a country put a fixed limit on its population? That is the question Switzerland will be answering on Sunday when voters go the polls to decide on a proposal to cap their population at 10 million.
The move is backed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party, which describes it as a "sustainability initiative" aimed at easing pressure on housing, public services and the environment.
The Swiss government, all other major parties, business leaders and trade unions have dubbed the proposal a "chaos initiative", arguing it will deprive hospitals and hotels of much needed staff, and damage hard-won relations with the European Union, leaving non-EU member Switzerland isolated in a very risky world.