Fifty-nine point six percent of Swiss citizens voted in favour of free movement of labour between the European Union and the Confederation, in spite of the fact that surveys indicated a far more uncertain result. How do you explain this outcome?
It is true that the outcome of this referendum was uncertain, but it seemed to me that at the very last minute Swiss citizens decided not to run the risk of depriving themselves of economic relations with the European Union at a time when everyone is experiencing a great economic crisis. The risk involved in burning bridges with the European Union was probably the element that explains this surprising result. The surveys did not take into account this mobilising force during the last weeks. One must however bear in mind that for legal reasons surveys are stopped two weeks before a vote.
This result is a defeat for the nationalist Right, which campaigned strongly in favour of a ‘no’, while for the government it was the capital it needed to achieve the quorum necessary for implementing the agreement. Has this result changed Switzerland’s political scenario?
The outcome proves that we have a political system ensuring that in Switzerland we are very frequently called upon to vote. Now those who propose we should regulate our relations with the European Union have to address the problem of avoiding a referendum every time the EU accepts a new member state. When, for example, the EU accepts Croatia, we will have to revisit extending the free movement of labour between the EU and the Confederation, and this may involve another referendum to address this issue. The Swiss economy and above all sectors linked to export, are tired of this system. In this sense the result might change the scenario, but I do not believe it will change very much.
Having said “yes” to this agreement means confirming the previously signed bilateral agreements with the European Union, in particular the Bilateral I economic agreements approved by a large majority of Swiss citizens in 2000. Is this perhaps the sign of a new EU-Swiss dialogue?
I believe this is rather the continuation of a solution chosen by the Swiss at the beginning of the Nineties. The Swiss were not in favour of a stronger agreement with the European Union. Now it is necessary to reflect on the fact that the next agreements to be discussed and negotiated with the EU are more complicated. First of all there are fiscal issues to be regulated and, as you know, fiscal issues have become extremely important within the European Union. From this point of view Switzerland’s position is not always easy, to the extent that Switzerland has bank secrecy just like other EU states such as Austria, Belgium and Luxemburg. We wish to preserve banking secrecy and do not want the European Union to exercise strong pressure to persuade us to abolish it. Banking secrecy is what has made the Swiss financial market great and powerful. I think that the coming stages of negotiations with the EU will be difficult.
The Swiss government won this challenge also thanks to support from entrepreneurs and the Swiss financial system. Europe in fact remains Switzerland’s first commercial partner.
In fact it was above all an economic victory. The economy worked in favour of this and the subject of economics seriously affected the final outcome.
The nationalist Right often resorted to xenophobic and racist propaganda above all regards to foreign labour. Was the result of this referendum also civil society’s answer to racism?
Precisely. Xenophobic propaganda did not work. There was even some propaganda comparing Romanian and Bulgarian workers to crows stealing bread, and therefore jobs from the Swiss. The outcome of this referendum proves that the majority of Swiss people do not share these views.
Those defending the “no” presented the theory according to which a positive result would cause an increase in migration, which in turn would have a negative effect on Swiss infrastructures and cause increased taxation of Swiss workers’ salaries. Do you agree with this theory?
In certain sectors there has been pressure on workers’ salaries, but in Switzerland we also have adopted provisions called “accompanying measures”, allowing control that was previously not exercised. There has been some abuse and this has been reported thanks to these controls, which can be improved in the future. Switzerland has judicial means and controls that allow misuses to be dealt with. It is obvious however that the high salaries and the an overall high standard of living in Switzerland results in the free circulation of labour exercising a degree of pressure on the salaries of Swiss workers. This is why many foreign workers have managed to sign contracts in Switzerland, but that is part of the free movement of people.
Just like the Northern League in Italy, Swiss xenophobic parties point a finger at foreigners accusing them of stealing jobs that should go to the Swiss. In an increasingly multicultural and multidenominational Europe how can one encourage full integration and avoid the pitfalls of racism?
Switzerland is addressing integration policies. All the political parties are presenting solutions for trying to promote a more harmonious coexistence between people from different cultures. Switzerland has a reputation for being a land of refuge. The migratory flow was so massive at a certain point that the people asked for the borders to be less open and for better controls over immigration. On the other hand, however, for everyone living in our country, improving coexistence, dialogue and the Muslim community’s immigration issues remain at the centre of the debate. One must avoid nationalist and xenophobic movements obstructing the integration process. In Switzerland there are “proximity” programmes, since power here is extremely decentralised and local communities are able to create their own integration programmes. We are a multicultural country since we have four national languages, and this means that Switzerland’s various linguistic regions do not all have the same solutions as far as integration problems are concerned.
Translated by Francesca Simmons