Keystone / Christian Beutler
The initiative “For freedom and physical integrity” was rejected on Sunday by 73.7% of voters and electors, according to the final results.
This content was published on
June 09, 2024 – 4:04 pm
The Swiss electorate was called to the polls this weekend for the fourth time on an issue related to the coronavirus pandemic. And for the fourth time the citizens have followed the recommendations of the Government and the majority of Parliament.
If on the occasion of the third vote, in June 2023, almost 62% of voters and electors had renewed their trust in the Federal Council for its management of the health crisis, accepting the Covid-19 law, against which a referendum, this time the proportion was more massive.
In fact, 73.7% of citizens who went to the polls rejected the popular initiative called “For freedom and physical integrity”.
The clear popular “no” was welcomed with satisfaction by the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Health Directors, who defined the initiative as “useless” and “dishonest”.
The rejection – underlined the intercantonal health coordination body – demonstrates that the text did not address a “real problem”.
The committee behind the initiative is not giving up: “We are evaluating whether to launch a new one,” Richard Koller told Keystone-ATS. One possibility would be to formulate the text more precisely. A second option is to work on a parliamentary initiative.
Initiative launched in the middle of the pandemic
Launched during the pandemic in reaction to the restrictions decided by the Government, the initiativeExternal link promoted by the Swiss Freedom Movement stipulated that “interventions on the physical or mental integrity of a person require his consent”. The text also specified that “the interested party cannot be punished or suffer social or professional prejudice for having refused to give his consent”.
Even if vaccination was not clearly mentioned in the text of the initiative, it was precisely this that was in the sights of the promoting committee.
Other developments
Other developments
Mandatory vaccination tested at the polls in Switzerland
This content was published on
24 Apr 2024
On June 9, the Swiss people are once again called to vote on an issue related to Covid-19. At the center of the debate: mandatory vaccination.
More Mandatory vaccination put to the test at the ballot box in Switzerland
When the initiative was launched, towards the end of 2020, there was not yet a vaccine against Covid-19. Later, when this was developed, for a time the Government imposed some restrictions on unvaccinated people. In particular, they could not enter certain public places, such as restaurants, without presenting a negative test.
An intolerable situation for a part of the population and for those who promoted the initiative. “Neither politics, nor the pharmaceutical industry, nor international organizations must decide what ends up in our bodies,” we read on the Freedom Movement website. Another argument put forward by this movement – which provides no evidence – is that in the future they will implant chips under the skin of the population.
Only the UDC supported the initiative
Among the major parties, only the center Democratic Union (UDC, right-wing sovereignist) supported the initiative.
“There already exists a right to personal freedom, in particular with regard to physical and mental integrity – declared UDC Councilor of States Pirmin Schwander during the campaign. However, during the pandemic this right has been limited and violated. This is why a complement to the Constitution is necessary.”
Arguments that did not make inroads either in the Government and Parliament before, or among the electorate this weekend.
“Already today, no one can be vaccinated without their consent”, underlined the Government, noting that the right to physical and mental integrity is already enshrined in the Constitution and can be “limited only for very important reasons and under the conditions established by the Constitution itself ”.
Furthermore, the initiative – those against it claimed – would probably have had repercussions in other areas, for example for police activities.
“If you take it literally, you could no longer take DNA from a suspicious person without his consent,” noted socialist national councilor Baptiste Hurni during the debates.
Mandatory vaccination not completely ruled out
In reality, compulsory vaccination is not completely excluded in Switzerland. The Law on the fight against communicable human diseases stipulates in article 22External link that “if there is a considerable danger, the Cantons may declare mandatory vaccinations of population groups at risk, particularly exposed people and people carrying out certain activities”.
A step that no cantonal authority had taken during the pandemic. Unlike some institutions and companies.
In Geneva, for example, from September 2021 to August 2022 the University Hospital had imposed compulsory vaccination on all new staff hired.
The airline Swiss had fired 150 crew members who had refused the vaccine. A case on which the Swiss justice system will have to clarify. Some of the people fired have in fact denounced their former employer, claiming that the measure – although covered by the cabin crew collective agreement – was disproportionate. The competent Zurich court has not yet ruled.
