Swiss voters reject bid to entrench stricter neutrality, preserving sanctions flexibility
Swiss voters on 27 September rejected a referendum initiative that would have written a stricter, "eternal and armed" neutrality into the Constitution. The proposal, put forward by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), would have banned Switzerland from joining military alliances and from imposing sanctions not approved by the UN Security Council. Preliminary results show roughly 69% against and 31% in favour; exit polls and the official final result put the "against" share at 70.15%. The outcome preserves the government's ability to keep aligning with EU sanctions against Russia.
Key points
- Referendum held on 27 September; Swiss voters rejected the initiative to enshrine stricter, "eternal and armed" neutrality in the Constitution.
- Preliminary results: ~69% against, ~31% in favour; SRF exit polls and the NZZ official final result report 70.15% against and no canton in favour.
- Initiative was proposed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP); former SVP leader Christoph Blocher spent about 2 million Swiss francs (~$2.4 million) on the campaign.
- If adopted, the proposal would have banned Switzerland from joining military alliances such as NATO and from imposing sanctions not approved by the UN Security Council.
- The initiative was a reaction to Switzerland's February 2022 decision to join EU sanctions against Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- The Swiss government, parliament and all major parties except the SVP opposed the initiative; Moscow publicly urged Swiss voters to back it.
- The result preserves the government's flexibility to apply neutrality, including continuing to join EU sanctions against Russia — it is not an abandonment of neutrality.
Why it matters
The vote locks in Switzerland's existing model of flexible neutrality and protects its room to keep aligning with EU sanctions against Russia after the 2022 full-scale invasion. It is also a setback for the SVP and for Christoph Blocher, the initiative's main financial backer, who spent around 2 million Swiss francs on the campaign. Moscow had publicly called on Swiss voters to support the proposal, so the rejection is a rebuff to that appeal. The outcome does not end Swiss neutrality — it leaves intact the constitutional neutrality of 1848 and the armed neutrality recognised internationally since 1815, while preventing the SVP from converting a specific Russia-sanctions dispute into a binding constitutional rule.
What happened
Swiss voters went to the polls on 27 September for a referendum on an SVP initiative to enshrine "eternal and armed" neutrality in the Constitution. The proposal would have prohibited Switzerland from joining military alliances such as NATO or cooperating with them, and from imposing sanctions not approved by the UN Security Council. It arose directly from Switzerland's February 2022 decision to join EU sanctions against Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Swiss government, parliament and all major parties except the SVP campaigned against it, while former SVP leader Christoph Blocher was the initiative's main backer, spending roughly 2 million Swiss francs (about $2.4 million) on the campaign. Moscow publicly urged Swiss voters to back the proposal. According to preliminary results reported by Bloomberg and Politico, about 69% voted against and 31% in favour; SRF exit polls and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung official final result recorded 70.15% against and 29.85% in favour, with no canton supporting the initiative. The outcome preserves the government's ability to flexibly apply neutrality and to continue aligning with EU sanctions against Russia.
Where reporting differs
Preliminary results cited at about 69% against contrast with SRF exit polls and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung official final result of 70.15% against. Framing also varies: one Ukrainian source headlines the outcome as Switzerland "preserving the right to join EU sanctions against Russia", while others frame it as the rejection of a proposal that would have forced Switzerland to abandon sanctions against Russia — the underlying result is the same, but the emphasis differs.
Background
Swiss neutrality has been part of the Constitution since 1848, and Switzerland's permanent armed neutrality was internationally recognised in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Switzerland largely aligned with EU sanctions against Russia; in March 2022 Bern froze Russian assets worth about 5.75 billion Swiss francs, and in August it expanded its Russia sanctions lists by 9 individuals and 45 companies. The SVP's neutrality initiative followed that alignment. On 19 September Switzerland adopted a new security strategy envisaging strengthened defence capabilities and protection against hybrid and remote attacks. The 27 September vote is the second SVP-backed initiative rejected by Swiss voters in 2025, after June's rejection of a proposal to cap the country's population at 10 million.