Survey on the vote on February 9 Few chances for environmental responsibility initiative - especially among men
The environmental responsibility initiative is likely to have a difficult time in the vote on February 9. The Young Greens' initiative is failing, especially among men.
27.12.2024, 06:17
27.12.2024, 06:55
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- The environmental responsibility initiative is likely to have a difficult time in the vote on February 9.
- In a poll conducted by "20 Minuten"/Tamedia, a high 63 percent of voters were against the initiative.
- There were also major differences in voting intentions by gender: while only 26% of men wanted to vote in favor of the initiative, 43% of women voted yes.
- The Federal Council and parliament rejected the initiative. Among other things, they fear that it would impose overly radical requirements on the economy.
In a poll conducted by "20 Minuten"/Tamedia, a high 63% of respondents voted against the initiative. 34 percent of respondents agreed with the Young Greens' environmental responsibility initiative, while 3 percent were undecided, as reported by "20 Minuten" on Friday. Typically, the "yes" percentage for an initiative falls as the voting campaign progresses. There are still weeks to go before the ballot, and the debates and campaigns are only just beginning.
In this case, however, the pollsters expect a less pronounced shrinkage of the proponent camp. The fundamental issue has already been discussed intensively in recent years on the basis of similar initiatives, such as the Responsible Business Initiative and the Initiative for a Green Economy.
For an economy that conserves resources
With the popular initiative "For a responsible economy within planetary boundaries (environmental responsibility initiative)", the Alliance for Environmental Responsibility wants an economy that conserves resources and is calling for the constitution to be amended. Within ten years, Switzerland's environmental impact should no longer exceed the "planetary boundaries" in relation to its population.
The Federal Council and Parliament reject the initiative. Among other things, they fear that the requirements for the economy are too radical.
For the opponents, the required restructuring of the economy would result in immense costs and competitive disadvantages, which would endanger jobs and lead to price increases and a loss of prosperity. They also believe that the initiative represents a serious encroachment on economic freedom and the freedom of choice of private individuals.
According to the proponents, it is high time to take action against the climate crisis. Previous measures would not be enough to combat climate collapse.
Gender divide
According to the survey, the initiative is highly polarized. According to the data, the rejection is clear among voters in the center, FDP and SVP (79, 89 and 90 percent no). On the other hand, there is strong support for the initiative among left-green voters (Greens and SP 89 and 70 percent yes respectively). A majority of the GLP base also supports the proposal, albeit less strongly at 54%.
There were also major differences in voting intentions by gender. While only 26% of men wanted to vote in favor of the initiative, 43% of women did.
The survey of 10,139 people was conducted by the Leewas Institute on December 18 and 19. The margin of error was 1.7 points.
The environmental responsibility initiative had already been rejected in a survey commissioned by SRG at the beginning of December. At that time, a relative majority of 49% of voters would have definitely or rather voted against it.