Swiss voters rank health premiums and climate as top concerns

Health insurance premiums and climate change top voters’ concerns a year before Switzerland’s federal elections, according to a street survey and a new SRG election barometer reported by SRF. The findings also point to limited patience among some voters for political solutions.

In the Sotomo poll commissioned by SRG, 39 per cent of respondents named health insurance premiums among their three most important political challenges. Climate change followed at 36 per cent. The exceptionally hot summer of 2026 brought climate concerns back into sharper focus, but the data do not show a new “green wave” on the scale seen before the 2019 elections.

People interviewed on the street also raised childcare, housing shortages, living costs, opportunities for foreign workers and the 13th old-age pension payment. Some expressed concern about artificial intelligence and future jobs, inflation and international developments.

More than half of respondents said they had fairly or very high trust in several political institutions. The Council of States received the highest rating, with 58 per cent reporting high trust, followed by municipal executives at 55 per cent and the Federal Council at 54 per cent. The figure was 51 per cent for cantonal governments and 49 per cent for the National Council.

Views on whether politicians take people’s concerns seriously were mixed. Some respondents said elected representatives addressed their issues, while others doubted that political promises could be carried out. Several praised Switzerland’s democratic system.

Asked how they would vote in a year, most said they planned to stick with their usual political choice. The poll was conducted online from September 10 to 23, 2026. After data checks, responses from 25,092 eligible voters were included.