Campaigns budget nearly 8 million francs for September votes
Friday 28th August 2026 on 11:01 in
Switzerland
Campaign committees have reported nearly 8 million Swiss francs in spending for Switzerland’s two federal votes on 27 September, SRF reports. Almost half of the total is earmarked by supporters of the Neutrality Initiative, with former Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher contributing more than 2 million francs.
The Swiss Federal Audit Office has published the campaign budgets reported for the two popular initiatives, the Neutrality Initiative and the Food Initiative. Supporters and opponents have budgeted a combined total of about 8 million francs for the national campaign.
The largest budget belongs to the pro-Neutrality Initiative camp, which has reported 3.84 million francs. Blocher is providing more than 2 million francs, while Pro Schweiz is contributing a further 1.3 million francs. The Swiss People’s Party is contributing 50,000 francs.
The opposing camp has reported a budget of 1.67 million francs. Economiesuisse is providing the largest share, at 1.2 million francs, followed by the Social Democratic Party with 367,000 francs and Operation Libero with 100,000 francs.
Opponents have more money in Food Initiative campaign
Opponents of the Food Initiative have reported a larger budget of 1.63 million francs. According to the Federal Audit Office report, the money comes mainly from organisations representing the meat and dairy industries, Gallosuisse and the Swiss Farmers’ Union.
The initiative’s supporters have reported less than half that amount. The association Clean Water for All, which supports the initiative, has a budget of 720,000 francs.
The reported budgets are significantly smaller than those for the No to a 10 Million Switzerland Initiative, which was put to a vote in June. The campaigns for that vote reported a combined 16.27 million francs, the highest amount since transparency rules were introduced. Opponents budgeted 9.61 million francs, while supporters budgeted 6.65 million francs.
Campaigns for federal votes or elections that spend more than 50,000 francs must disclose their financing. Donations exceeding 15,000 francs must also be published with the donors’ names. The Federal Audit Office publishes the information online.