Foreign media react to Swiss rejection of neutrality initiative

International coverage of Switzerland’s vote on the neutrality initiative focused on Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and relations with NATO, SRF reports. The initiative’s defeat made headlines around the world.

Germany’s weekly newspaper Die Zeit wrote that the initiative sought to prevent sanctions against parties to wars, while most voters continued to favour international cooperation. “The Swiss do not want to cosy up to Putin,” it said.

Austria’s public broadcaster ORF reported that the initiative’s committee had received support from Russia. It quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson who criticised “flexible neutrality” on Telegram. The spokesperson is herself on Switzerland’s sanctions list.

Italy’s Corriere della Sera focused on the vote’s foreign policy implications, saying the continuation of Swiss sanctions against Russia had also been at stake.

France’s Le Figaro said voters were divided over Ukraine. A yes vote would effectively have deprived Switzerland of the ability to join sanctions against Russia without an explicit UN mandate. The daily Libération described the initiative as “pro-Russian”.

Historian Sacha Zala told Le Monde that neutrality had become an almost religious construct in Switzerland: less a foreign policy doctrine than a pillar of national identity.

US public broadcaster NPR said voters also doubted that Christoph Blocher’s proposals for stricter neutrality would guarantee their security. Traditional armed neutrality might not protect Switzerland from new threats, it said, adding that old friends could quickly become unreliable and referring to the ordered F-35 fighter jets.

Reuters emphasised that approval of the initiative would have restricted cooperation between Switzerland and NATO. Russia Today, a Russian international media outlet funded by the Kremlin, said the initiative’s defeat raised questions about campaign strategy, the use of funds and media coverage.

India’s Times of India said the initiative put relations with NATO and sanctions against Russia at risk.

Al Jazeera said the vote sidestepped the central question of how Swiss neutrality could continue to provide security and prosperity. Strict neutrality written into the constitution alone would not protect the country from modern threats such as economic vulnerability or violations of its airspace, it said. The initiative addressed an old debate, while the world had changed in many ways since 2022.