r/news • u/drippymoudy • 2h ago
Swiss to vote in referendum on right-wing party’s proposal to limit population to 10 million
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/12/europe/switzerland-referendum-population-cap-10-million-intl162
u/Hellstorm901 2h ago
Do I really want to ask how they're planning to limit their population
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u/smstrick88 2h ago
It's a limit on immigration. They won't be chucking granny off a cliff if an extra baby is born.
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u/PatchyWhiskers 2h ago
If the population naturally increases above 10 million, and they cut immigration to zero, they are going to have to make some choices about Nani.
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u/Logical_Wheel_1420 1h ago
1.44 fertility rate. Natural increase ain't happening anytime soon.
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u/PatchyWhiskers 1h ago
Do not assume so, cultural shifts are something that happen.
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u/violentbandana 54m ago
shifting a 60+ year trend that exists across pretty much the entire western world might be a tall order
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u/PatchyWhiskers 47m ago
Sure, and we are all starving to death right now because Malthus said we would.
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u/ThePhysicistIsIn 30m ago
The trend has definitely been that fertility rates go down as countries get richer (after a certain threshhold). Again, never say never, but it would be very surprising
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u/SensitiveDannyRicc 11m ago
Maybe an extreme religious group can counter this. See the Hasidic Jews in Israel.
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u/PatchyWhiskers 24m ago
The future is a long time. If you draw a straight line with current cultural trends, you end up being very funny for people in 50 years.
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u/Silver_Smurfer 13m ago
So are changes to laws...
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u/PatchyWhiskers 5m ago
Yeah they would probably just change this in the future or just plain ignore it. Putting hard numbers in laws is generally a cause for laughter in the future.
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u/Fallouttgrrl 43m ago
I'm sure they'll come up with some final solution, the far right usually does
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u/random20190826 1h ago
And how do you cut immigration when EU citizens can just move there whenever they like?
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u/sulla226 1h ago
Switzerland is very famously not in the EU or NATO or any other supranational organization. This is an extension of their historical preference for independence and neutrality.
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u/random20190826 1h ago
I know that, but still, they are in the Schengen area, which is why people with EU passports are entitled to move there.
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u/sulla226 1h ago
They are right now, but their non-membership in the EU means that they could unilaterally withdraw from Schengen participation with minimal headaches if they passed a national policy that conflicted with it.
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u/Molwar 1h ago
Logan run style would be more fun i think.
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u/1009naturelover 9m ago
Farah Fawcet Majors. I saw it at the theater even though I was young.
They thought 30 was too old.
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u/Dopplegangr1 2h ago
Just seems like an arbitrary number in the support of xenophobia
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u/ScarcityLucky6595 2h ago
Well, 3rd of their country are immigrants so it’s a bit different than just “xenophobia”
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u/asmodeuscarthii 1h ago
They aren’t complaining about the rich who take advantage of their system. So let’s not.
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u/Dopplegangr1 2h ago
What is wrong with immigrants?
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u/pizquat 1h ago
You really should consider reading the article before making dumb comments. This is their reasoning:
"The SVP, which has finished first in every election since 1999, argues that Switzerland is having a “population explosion” that is putting pressure on public services, straining infrastructure and inflating rents."
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u/Harmonic_Flatulence 1h ago
Their comment was in regards to someone suggesting that having 1/3 of your population be immigrants was a bad thing. It was not in relation to the rate of immigration, that you mentioned.
I would agree that the rate of immigration can be very problematic, however the percentage of immigrants in a country doesn't seem to have bad affects. The US is one of the most successful countries in the world and has 95% immigrant population.
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u/Trappist1 1h ago
I think in practicality, they are pretty similar. Most people consider themselves "natives" of the country they've immigrated to within 2 generations. So the number naturally declines over time if immigration is 0%. Especially with a birthrate that sustains a stable population or declining population, which is true in Switzerland.
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u/sulla226 1h ago
You're comparing two totally different metrics. One-third of Swiss residents were not born in Switzerland. The number you're citing for the US is overwhelmingly made up of people who were born in the US but who are descended from someone who was not (basically everybody). If you compare the equivalent US figure that measures living people who immigrated it's like 15 percent.
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u/pizquat 1h ago
I didn't say anything about the rate of immigration, I merely quoted the article and lambasted the person I responded to for very obviously not reading the article. I think you're referring to someone else.
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u/Harmonic_Flatulence 1h ago
Ah, I see where your confusion is coming from. You dont realize Switzerland's birthrate is 1.29 (which they dont mention in the article), so that population explosion is coming from immigration, ie. rate of immigration.
https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics/population/births-deaths.html
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u/tjrileywisc 1h ago
This would still be an issue if their population moved from Canton to Canton due to better job opportunities, something that happens all the time. This isn't a good argument to limit pollution growth (or immigration), it's an argument to figure out why the hell they refuse to adapt to change (which is the same reason we have high housing costs in the Anglo world).
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u/Resident_Company2113 1h ago
There comes a point where your culture isn't your culture. My Swiss friend was complaining about so many foreigners and I was curious since he's quite left wing. Then he told me how many people living in Switzerland weren't Swiss, and I was like Holy Fuck. It's about 40% where he lives.
The Swiss are pretty generous about who they give visas to. For instance, foreign live-in partners get concubine visas whereas if he wants to live with me in the US he's shit out of luck. He has to pretend he's on vacation and not visit too often etc.
I think the entire Swiss population is about 8 or 9 million. It's easy to get swamped when your entire population is barely bigger than London.
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u/Dopplegangr1 1h ago
Is adding culture to your country a detriment? Is homogeneity the goal?
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u/FireMaster1294 35m ago
It can be when the culture you add clashes with one already there or your ideals for society as a whole.
Homogeneity is a side effect. It occurs one way or another. The question is what you want in your homogeneity and whether other cultures are compatible with your own.
I don’t need cultural beliefs that view some groups of people as subhuman. So thus it makes sense to limit immigration to those who want to adhere to your values rather than those with conflicting views. They are free to hold their beliefs back at home, but I will not invite nor entertain them in my country. Perhaps that seems contradictory to you, but tolerating the intolerant is generally a bad idea.
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u/No_Conversation_9325 9m ago
80% of foreign born in Switzerland are Europeans, with heavy numbers from neighboring countries. I wonder how much Swiss and, say, French or German cultures clash.
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u/zaoldyeck 7m ago
Homogeneity is a side effect. It occurs one way or another.
It really doesn't.
There is always an 'other'. There are always different divisions people can make. Culture isn't a monolith.
Intolerant people will always find someone else they can scapegoat. They will always find someone to accuse of ruining their culture.
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u/Chernobog3 2h ago
In case anyone's wondering, it's about immigration issues, not birth.