Poll – Swiss view bilateral agreements positively

Bilateral agreements are advantageous for Switzerland, according to 49% of those questioned during a survey. 28% see advantages and disadvantages and only 18% think that they mainly have disadvantages.

The coronavirus crisis has not substantially changed the opinion of the population on European policy, notes the representative study carried out by the research institute gfs.bern on behalf of Interpharma and released on Friday.

The benefits of bilateral agreements are, however, slightly less highlighted than they were a year ago. For the authors of the study, we can deduce that Swiss voters tend to judge critically the handling of the crisis by the EU. But the favorable appreciation of these agreements continues to prevail.

29% for the UDC initiative

The public debate on the SVP initiative against bilaterals, marked by the pandemic, has so far not generated any significant momentum in its favor. In the spring of 2019, 33% of voters intended to vote in favor of the initiative. Just over a year later, they are only 29%. Conversely, 69% today reject the initiative, an increase of 5% compared to 2019.

Concerning the arguments against the initiative, the fear that it will harm the economy is in the foreground. For around two thirds of those questioned, it would be irresponsible to endanger access to our main market. They also fear that the initiative will accentuate the lack of specialized staff.

The institutional agreement continues to gather a stable majority: almost two thirds of the voters would approve it at the polls. Ensuring the opening of export markets and well-regulated relations for the Swiss economy is considered in this regard as crucial by respondents. In total, 2005 people were interviewed by gfs.bern between April 29 and June 6.

(ATS / NXP)

Posted today at 8:59 p.m.–