Swiss to decide on divisive Covid certificate

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Although the law contains various measures, the COVID certificate is clearly the key issue. Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

Voters again have a say on the government's coronavirus policy this weekend, with the focus this time on what opponents label a“discriminatory” Covid certificate.

Originally from Ireland, Domhnall worked in research and writing in a couple of European countries before joining swissinfo.ch in 2017. He covers direct democracy and politics and is usually in Bern.

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Whether a sign of a vibrant democratic culture or a divided land, it's clear that the Swiss are international outliers: for the second time this year, voters have a direct say on the handling of the pandemic.

In June, 60% backed the initial text of the Covid-19 law, which parliament ratified last September as a framework for the financial and health measures taken by government to deal with the pandemic.

Five months later, as case numbers, hospitalisations, and social tensions rise, voters again have the last word – this time on a set of amendments to the law made in March, and which include widened financial aid as well as the legal basis for the Covid certificate.

Although polls say a majority is still in support of the government's handling of the pandemic, the certificate (which restricts access to many public places to vaccinated, recovered, or tested people) has become the focal point of loud and sometimes violent protests by opponents since its introduction in mid-September.

And while analysts don't expect a rejection – the latest polls showed over 60% of voters in favour of the law – they do expect a higher turnout than average for an issue which has become extremely emotional and debated.

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Opponents, who gathered 187,000 signatures to challenge the law (50,000 are needed), say the legislation and the certificate threaten individual liberties and societal harmony, and amount to a de facto vaccination obligation.

They also fear creeping government power. The law gives the government“sole power to decide on tightening or easing measures”, Josef Ender told SRF public television last week. Ender represents a group of Covid critics from central Switzerland, who are campaigning for a“no” along with associations including the Friends of the Constitution and the“Mass-Voll” (“enough is enough”) movement.

These associations – which didn't even exist before the pandemic – have also been joined by the country's biggest political group, the right-wing People's Party, which approved the law in parliament but which has since criticised the certificate rollout.

“The certificate is the only reason this referendum has been called,” Jean-Luc Addor of the People's Party told RTS public television. Addor said his party is not against the financial aid measures, which could easily be re-approved by parliament; it's against what he called an“ever deeper dive into a sort of authoritarian regime”.

A short amendment allowing the government to implement a“comprehensive, effective and digital contact tracing” system has come under fire; in the official vote information booklet, opponents claim it opens the door to“Chinese conditions” in Switzerland.

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The“yes” camp has been more muted. Led by the government and all major political groups except the People's Party, the defenders of the law say the alternative to the certificate is widespread shutdowns of society and the economy.

“We want to get out of this situation,” Interior Minister Alain Berset said during an SRF TV debate last week. The frequent revisions of the Covid law – including those up for vote – give the government the ability to take proper decisions in a fast-changing pandemic, he said.

Authorities also warn that financial aid measures to help independent workers – notably in the cultural sector – and hard-hit businesses, along with new measures to boost the government's medical procurement capabilities, would be lost if a“no” vote wins.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who has often tried to play the role of public mediator in the pandemic, said during the campaign that while he understood people's frustrations, rejecting the Covid law would amount to“throwing the baby out with the bathwater”.

Other supporters, including a group of“Freethinkers” usually known as secular demonstrators, launched a campaign based on the slogan“get vaccinated, stop moaning”. Although they reportedly have much less money at their disposal than the well-endowed“no” campaign, some of their caricatures have also adorned balconies and billboards in the country over the past weeks.

It has been a rather unusual campaign, not only because it's the second time in five months the same issue is on the ballot, but also because it comes at a time of public and political debate about Covid in any case.

For example, Année Politique Suisse, a research institute at Bern University, reported fewer campaign ads than usual in newspapers in the lead up to the vote; but this is presumably because debates and protests about corona are already the dominant topic.

And with statements and protests becoming sometimes aggressive, the atmosphere is tense. Michael Hermann, whose Sotomo institute has carried out regular Covid surveys on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SWI swissinfo.ch's parent company), told the Bund newspaper last week he had“never experienced such a deep societal divide”.

Entrenched positions were also seen in opinion polls by the gfs.bern institute in the run-up to the vote: while the last survey on November 7 showed 61% in favour of the law and 38% against, just 1% were still“undecided” – a much smaller amount than usual, and an indication that people made up their minds on this some time ago already.

As for the chances on Sunday, pollsters reckon a“no” can't be ruled out, but a“yes” is still much more likely.“The most important factor for a typical voter is whether he or she is vaccinated against Covid,” said gfs.bern analyst Martina Mousson; her institute estimates around 70% of eligible voters have received at least one dose.

Should the law be rejected on Sunday, the certificate in its current form, as well as the other amendments up for vote, would disappear as of March 19, 2022.

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One of democracy's fundamental pillars is under attack, and under scrutiny, across the world.

Articles in this story

• Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
• Fact check: Will the Covid law lead to mass surveillance?
• A global stress test for freedom of expression

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