Swiss Watching: Inside the Land of Milk and Money

by Diccon Bewes

The obligatory referendum. This does what it says on the tin, and must follow any constitutional amendment or binding application to join international organisations like the EU. The optional referendum. Parliamentary decisions and legislation can be put to a popular vote, but only if 50,000 valid signatures are collected within 100 days. This threat of rejection by the voters is the main force behind making most legislation a compromise acceptable to the majority. The popular initiative. Anyone can propose a vote to change the constitution on any issue, as long as it doesn’t violate either the constitution or international law. Proposers have 18 months to collect 100,000 valid signatures in order to force a vote, be that on abolishing the army (failed) or joining the UN (passed).5 This can be thought of as the people’s referendum. The counter-proposal. If parliament disagrees with a popular initiative, it can put forward its own alternative. Both are voted on at the same time and, bizarrely, both can be approved, known as a double yes. The one with the most yes votes is the winner.6