Swiss diaspora more keen on pension reform and animal welfare

While the pension reform, which raises the retirement age for women from 64 to 65, was narrowly accepted in Sunday’s vote, the Swiss Abroad were more strongly in favour. The majority of voting expats were also in favour of abolishing factory farming and withholding tax unlike resident citizens.

Like their compatriots, the Swiss Abroad voted on Sunday in favour of both the pension reforms in Switzerland. But while the amendment to the law, which raises the retirement age for women from 64 to 65, passed by only a hair’s breadth at the national level, acceptance was much higher among the Swiss diaspora.

The pension reform was coupled with a second item, the increase in value-added tax (VAT) from 7.7% to 8.1%, which was intended to provide an additional source of funding for the pension system. Here again, this component was accepted even more strongly by the Swiss diaspora: 64.5% vs overall support of 55.1%.

One possible explanation for this stronger support for pension reform is that the challenge of sustaining pension systems is common to most developed countries. Many governments have already decided to harmonise the retirement age for men and women, or even to increase it.

“There is therefore certainly greater tolerance of these issues on the part of expatriates,” says Martina Mousson, a political scientist at the gfs.bern research institute. In addition, the increase in the retirement age in Switzerland has less of an impact on Swiss nationals working abroad, who are subject to the system in their country of employment

A similar logic certainly applied to the increase in the VAT rate, according to Mousson.

“The Swiss diaspora is not a consumer in Switzerland and is therefore less affected by the financial consequences of the measure,” notes the political scientist. In international comparison, she adds, Switzerland has a very low VAT rate, which may make an increase more acceptable from elsewhere.

Different outcomes for two issues

In contrast to the rest of the country, the majority of the registered Swiss expats  voted narrowly in favour of the initiative calling for a ban on intensive livestock farming in Switzerland. Mousson attributes the difference to high food prices in Switzerland.

“There is also sensitivity to animal welfare in Switzerland, but here the debate has been strongly focused on rising prices, which does not concern people living abroad,” she says.