Swiss Could Vote for More Nature, Less Construction, Poll Finds

(Bloomberg) -- A slim majority of Swiss voters are in favor of limiting construction and agriculture to better protect nature and biodiversity, according to a first poll ahead of a plebiscite next month.

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Environmental organizations are pushing to amend the constitution to include stronger protection of nature reserves. The government and parliament are against the measure, saying it’s as a threat to economic growth, farming and the installation of new renewable power plants. The vote is scheduled for Sept. 22.

In the poll — published by public broadcaster SRG SSR on Friday — 51% of respondents are in favor of the measure, while 43% oppose it. This could signal a close finish as the opinion-forming process is already at an intermediate to advanced stage, according to pollster gfs.bern.

The survey showed divergence of support along party lines — left and green party voters are primarily in the ‘yes’ camp, centrist and right voters tend toward ‘no.’ Gender and place of residence also shows a split.

“Men and people living in rural areas are mostly against the initiative,” gfs.bern said. “Women and people living in urban areas predominantly want to vote in favor.”

Voters will also cast their ballots on the government’s reform of companies’ pension funds. The plan envisages — among other things — lower retirement payments and higher wage deductions to cope with higher life expectancy. Unions collected the required 50,000 signatures to challenge the proposal in a referendum.

On this, no clear majority has formed yet, according to the pollster. It finds 49% are in favor of the changes, 39% against and the remainder undecided. That means that as of now, it’s impossible to predict an outcome, gfs.bern said.

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