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Why does Switzerland want to become even more neutral?

2026-08-16 17:23:33Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Why does Switzerland want to become even more neutral?
Switzerland wants to become even more neutral

Switzerland does not intervene militarily in international conflicts – neutrality is even enshrined in the constitution. However, this is not enough for some actors in parliament.

In the small local pub "Le Derby" in Geneva, four men are enjoying a beer after work. Ben, one of them, raises a hot issue: "It's very important to have this neutrality. Not like now, when Switzerland has taken sides because of Russia."

The obligation of neutrality is written into the Swiss constitution. Despite this, Switzerland, after some hesitation, joined the West's economic sanctions against Russia, which invaded Ukraine. It was not a good decision, he believes.

Heidi, a passerby who happened to be nearby, also expresses skepticism: "The principle of neutrality is a good thing for us. In the future, we should strictly adhere to our neutrality."

People's initiative for a stricter understanding of neutrality

A man who is now known in Switzerland as a "political pensioner" makes a similar request. Christoph Blocher (85) was a few decades ago an icon of the Swiss People's Party (SVP), a right-wing conservative party, a former member of parliament and even a member of the federal government in Switzerland.

Recently, he has been an ardent supporter of the so-called "Neutrality Initiative", which was launched by some circles in his party.

According to Blocher, the return to traditional neutrality in 1938 saved Switzerland from involvement in World War II. A neutrality that went far beyond the principle of military non-intervention: "Experts call it integral neutrality. That means: absolute. That means: we are also neutral when it comes to non-military punitive measures."

Sanctions are being abandoned

Non-military punitive measures: Blocher explains in a video what he means by this. The 85-year-old war veteran includes neutrality not only as the principle of military non-intervention, but also of "economic or diplomatic sanctions". Because, according to him, "anyone who does this is already a party to the conflict".

This means that Switzerland should not participate in future economic or diplomatic sanctions unless there is a corresponding decision from the United Nations.

This is stated in the draft of the popular initiative "On the preservation of Swiss neutrality". And this is precisely the most sensitive point. At the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine, Switzerland - after a short but intense debate - joined Western sanctions against the Russian Federation. This was a mistake, says Blocher.

Minister warns against isolating Switzerland

This was not a mistake, says Ignazio Cassis, the Swiss Foreign Minister from the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP). Nor can one imagine what would happen if Blocher's ideas of "integral neutrality" were to become law, he says.

"No sanctions could be imposed against countries that are at war anymore," says Cassis. "Today's sanctions against Russia, for example, would no longer be possible because they were not voted on by the UN. This could have serious consequences for foreign policy."

Cassis fears that in such a case, Switzerland would be "separated" from the Western community of states. Most politicians from all other parties represented in the Bern parliament think similarly - with the exception of Blocher's SVP.

This party has by far the largest number of members (62) in the National Council, the lower house of the Swiss parliament with a total of 200 seats.

The concept of neutrality is flexible

The fact is that the concept of "neutrality" is in the Swiss Constitution. However, it does not say how it should be implemented concretely.

Foreign Minister Cassis believes that the current principle of "flexible implementation" makes sense. "The flexible design of neutrality has kept Switzerland unscathed from geopolitical turmoil and wars. It should remain so in the future."

This should change in the future, argues Christoph Blocher. Whether he and his SVP succeed with this neutrality initiative will be decided in a referendum on September 27th./ DW


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