The vote will focus on a proposal by the hard-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) aimed at keeping the wealthy Alpine nation's population -- currently 9.1 million -- below 10 million until 2050.The SVP, the country's biggest party, argues that the initiative, entitled "No to a Switzerland with 10 million!", is needed to fight "out of control" immigration, which it blames for ills ranging from overcrowded trains to skyrocketing rents and urban sprawl.The initiative faces broad opposition across the government, parliament and business sector, but opinion polls suggest the vote could be tight.
The Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski in the alpine resort town of St. Moritz. The HotellerieSuisse industry association is against the immigration initiative © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
Major employers' organisations and unions have dubbed it the "chaos initiative".They warn it could sink prosperity in Switzerland, where large swathes of the economy -- from medical research to construction to healthcare -- depend heavily on foreign labour, primarily from the surrounding EU.In the hotel industry too, "more than 50 percent of employees are foreigners", said Martin von Moos, head of the industry association HotellerieSuisse, voicing concern that the initiative would worsen chronic labour shortages in the sector.EU market access jeopardisedThere are also fears the initiative would jeopardise major agreements linking Switzerland to the EU, its main trading partner, including their 1999 "agreement on the free movement of persons".Last year, more than half of Switzerland's total exports went to the EU, to the tune of more than 147 billion Swiss francs ($185 billion)."For us, access to the European market is vital," said Pierre-Yves Bonvin, head of textile machinery manufacturer Steiger, which exports its entire production to the EU.
