Poll shows majority in favor of the SVP's 10 million Swiss initiative

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• The SVP wants a popular initiative to stipulate that Switzerland should not have more than ten million inhabitants before 2050.
• A new survey shows growing support for the proposal.
• 52% of the 16,176 respondents want to accept the initiative or are leaning towards a yes vote.
• Only 46% definitely or rather want to reject it.
• 54% of FDP supporters were in favor of the SVP initiative in mid-April - even though the party itself is leading the No campaign.

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The SVP popular initiative "No 10 million Swiss" could find a majority at the ballot box. This is the result of a survey conducted last week. According to the survey, 52% of respondents want to vote yes to the popular initiative in the federal referendum on June 14.

46 percent of those surveyed in mid-April wanted to reject the SVP's so-called sustainability initiative, while two percent had not yet made a decision. This was reported by the news portal "20 Minuten" and the Tamedia publishing house, which commissioned the Leewas Institute to conduct the survey.

However, in its report published on Wednesday, Leewas also writes of a "certain volatility": in March, only 45% said yes and 47% no in an earlier survey. In November 2025, the result was an approval rating of 48% yes to 41% no. A clear trend is not discernible.

For the second referendum proposal, the amendment to the Civilian Service Act, 46% of voters currently say yes and 46% no.

54 percent of FDP voters say yes

According to Leewas, the proposal to limit immigration has been known about since an early stage and is widely discussed. This is shown by the low proportion of "rather yes" and "rather no" votes. The 52% approval of the proposal is made up of 46% "yes" and 6% "rather yes" responses. On the other side, 43 percent said no and 3 percent "rather no".

54% of women say yes, 51% of men say yes. In Italian- and German-speaking Switzerland, approval is stronger than in French-speaking Switzerland, where only 48% say yes and 50% say no.

The higher the level of education and the higher the income, the lower the 'yes' vote. And at 57%, the country is much more clearly in favor of the referendum than the city (43%).

Only three percent of SVP sympathizers say no to the party's initiative, while between 16 and 24 percent of supporters of the SP, Greens and Green Liberals say yes. 47% of centrist supporters and 54% of FDP supporters were in favor of the SVP initiative in mid-April. Both parties have voted against the initiative.

Debate on the 10 million Swiss

Federal Council at the Büezern: "We can demand our rules - from people who immigrate"

Two main arguments each

With its initiative, the SVP wants Switzerland's population to grow more slowly than in recent years. The constitution should therefore stipulate that the permanent resident population must not exceed the ten million threshold before 2050. The federal government would have to take measures if the population exceeds 9.5 million.

According to Leewas, the proponents of the bill are convinced by two arguments. Firstly, immigration threatens Switzerland's security. Foreigners and naturalized citizens are massively overrepresented in violent crimes. Secondly, immigration leads to rising rents, housing shortages, traffic jams and overcrowded trains.

Two arguments are also particularly important for opponents of the initiative, according to the Leewas report: the proposal would lead to the termination of bilateral agreements with the EU, with serious consequences for the export-oriented Swiss economy. In addition, the initiative would exacerbate the shortage of skilled workers for Swiss companies, particularly for SMEs and in the healthcare sector.

This is how Parmelin justifies the decision

Army or civilian service? Federal Council wants to restrict freedom of choice

Civilian service: big difference between men and women

On June 14, voters will decide whether the transition from the army to civilian service should be made more difficult. In mid-April, 8% of respondents were still undecided on this proposal.

A clear majority of FDP, SVP and centrist voters support this revision of the law, while left-green voters clearly reject it. Only 40% of women agree, while 51% of men say yes.

According to Leewas, the main argument for the supporters is that civilian service has become a convenient alternative, even though the constitution does not allow for freedom of choice between military service and civilian service.

The opponents reject the proposal in particular because those performing civilian service fulfill important tasks for social and cultural cohesion. Over 16,000 people from all parts of the country took part in the survey.