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Analysis
Why the KVI failed, despite 50.7% of the electorate putting a yes at the ballot box
The collective responsibility initiative was rejected, although 37,500 more voted in favor than against. This is possible because in Switzerland a voice is not always a voice.
After the no to the corporate responsibility initiative (KV), the wave rises with the fans. The reason is clear: more people with the right to vote voted in favor than against the initiative. However, it was rejected. The KVI failed due to the number of stands. This is a historical fact: this only happened once in a popular initiative, 65 years ago. In 1955, the union federation’s tenant and consumer protection initiative suffered the same fate.
The proponents are understandably angry now. “The more posts belong to the dustbin of history,” he wrote about Juso president Ronja Jansen on Twitter, sparking a wave of reactions.
But why are there more positions? And what does that mean for our votes? An overview.
What is the most booth?
Switzerland is not a unitary state, but a federal state, a federation of cantons. To win a national vote, you need not only a majority of individual votes, but also a majority of cantons, the majority of which have voted in favor.
In this way especially the Rural population In front the overwhelming power of populous cantons is protected. This regulation privileges the rural population of poorly populated cantons, since it gives more weight to their votes.
Experience shows that the city and the country vote differently. In cities, voters are mostly leftist politicians, while in rural areas it is more middle class.
The question of the number of stands represents a dilemma that cannot be resolved. Because either a majority decides over a minority, or a minority decides over a majority. It would be easy for German-speaking Switzerland, with more than 70 percent of the population, to outvote cantons with other languages and their interests.
What does this mean for the weight of the votes?
It means that the saying “one person, one voice” does not really correspond to reality in Switzerland. A vote from the canton of Appenzell-Innerrhoden is weighted 39.41 times more than one from Zurich. The same phenomenon can be observed in all the poorly populated cantons.
Here’s how you can tell how heavy your voice is:
In theory, this also means that only 9 percent of all Swiss voters could tear down an initiative. That is, when half of the 11.5 least populated cantons in Switzerland reject a proposal.
What does that mean in relation to the KVI?
If you look at the KVI vote, you can make more numbers players. This would be the case for the cantons of Glarus (609), Appenzell-Innerrhoden (1486), Schaffhausen (1832) and Uri (2030) as a whole. alone 5957 be right second hand, to Cabins to turn and thus achieve the number of properties nationwide. For comparison: 37,500 more people said yes to the KVI.
This injustice has long been a thorn in the side of Switzerland’s urban centers. The question of the urban media cantons in Zurich, Lucerne or Bern has haunted the political world several times.
However, there will probably never be an abolition of the number of properties: because a vote would probably fail due to the number of properties.
