Posted on 09/27/2026 9:40:52 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Swiss voters on Sunday looked set to reject a proposal to adopt a more restrictive form of neutrality that would have blocked their country from imposing economic sanctions or cooperating with NATO.
More than two-thirds voted against a proposal for a strictly defined version of neutrality to be written into the Swiss constitution, according to the latest referendum projections by state broadcaster SRF.
While Swiss neutrality has been internationally recognised since the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815, how the government implements it is not spelled out.
The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) has said that Switzerland’s traditional position has been eroded after Bern imposed sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
The campaign has funded posters across the country urging people to vote “No war, yes to neutrality”, featuring white peace doves ahead of the vote.
Still, opinion polls suggest voters will reject the proposal, with one of the latest surveys showing 68% against with 31% in favour.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Swiss know how to properly leech as well as anyone on this planet.
In the end the figures were 70% to 30% rejecting the proposal (according to NZZ).
They are also embarrassed by Switzerland's role as a "neutral" in WWII that effectively aided Nazi Germany and don't wish to be a haven for Russian oligarchs and Russian sanctions busting.
Switzerland is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) because of its long-standing policy of military neutrality. That is their choice. But don’t expect NATO to come running when you get your thing in a sling.
wy69
Who said they do?
I don't see them receiving tens of billions in U.S. military aid, like Ukraine or Israel.
Switzerland knows a lot about defending their country, they are prepared and the nation is structured as a well manned fortress, they also work with and align with NATO/US.
“Who said they do?”
It isn’t that they belong, it’s that they are doing something to oppose them. From the article:
Swiss voters on Sunday looked set to reject a proposal to adopt a more restrictive form of neutrality that would have blocked their country from imposing economic sanctions or cooperating with NATO.
They aren’t a member and are prepared to defy NATO.
wy69
“Switzerland knows a lot about defending their country...”
ZURICH, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Switzerland cannot defend itself against a full-scale attack and must boost military spending given rising risks from Russia, the head of its armed forces said.
The country is prepared for attacks by “non-state actors” on critical infrastructure and for cyber attacks, but its military still faces major equipment gaps, Thomas Suessli told the NZZ newspaper.
“What we cannot do is defend against threats from a distance or even a full-scale attack on our country,” said Suessli, who is stepping down at the end of the year.
wy69
Gee, you mean there is always the politics of increasing military spending by various individuals, forever, and everywhere?
Switzerland has fine defenses because it is an army that has a country, not a country with an army, even their civilian infrastructure and homes have national defense requirements.
Defense is a never ending function as we see in the United States as we have slipped decades and trillions behind, although we are number one, so Switzerland also needs political voices to tell them of the new threats and the adjustments that need to be made in budgets and defenses.
Also, it didn’t appear that you knew that Switzerland is closely aligned with our NATO alliance, and new discussions opened about officially joining NATO because of Russia’s latest invasion, of course Finland and Sweden did join.
“Also, it didn’t appear that you knew that Switzerland is closely aligned with our NATO alliance...”
Yes, I did. And I have had work in my job with that arrangement. Switzerland engages in practical, non-binding military and political cooperation through frameworks like the Partnership for Peace (PfP). Their status is an individually tailored partnership program (ITPP) which is a non-binding joint framework outlining current goals (covering 2025–2028), which focuses on political dialogue, interoperability of the armed forces, and emerging domains like space and resilience. But as for joining NATO in any military operations for direct combat, out of the question. Switzerland has participated in NATO’s Partnership for Peace program since 1996 and collaborates on joint research, training, and interoperability. But not combat.
In September 2026, this year, 70%+ of Switzerland voters rejected a ballot initiative pushed by conservative politicians that would have forced an even stricter definition of neutrality into their constitution, the Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation, and blocked peacetime cooperation with NATO. NATO isn’t perferred any more than Rusia or China by them and they are refusing any efforts to be a member.
They’ve had membership in SAFE on the table for over a year. According to the government in Bern, such a move wouldn’t violate neutrality. During a visit to Brussels in June 2025, Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister told reporters that “a robust European security architecture is in our interest,” while stressing that “it is also important to explain to partners where our limits lie.” Unlike NATO membership, a security and defence deal would not entail mutual-assistance obligations should another partner come under attack.
https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/how-neutral-can-switzerland-remain
But a joint cooperation is there for Switzerland’s purpose only and they are not prepared, or care to join the fight, for the EU and won’t. They can’t even protect themselves by their own admission in a combat attack.
wy69
You seemed to have verified what I am saying except somehow you have again claimed that they are undefendable rather than that they need what all militaries need, to increase and get ready for the new threats.
Which attacker is it that you think they and NATO are going to let conquer Switzerland?
“Swiss know how to properly leech as well as anyone on this planet.”
___________________________________________________________
Mutual defense agreements for a shared adversary - particularly one as pernicious as Russia - are a sane and reasonable choice over more wars of aggression against small nations.
The USSR and Warsaw Pact are long gone now, but Russia remains a threat to its neighbors.
“Which attacker is it that you think they and NATO are going to let conquer Switzerland?”
Ther is no single attacker to “conquer” anyone. Terrorists do not want to conquer something. They want to conbtrol. If they can disrupt the normal existence of a country’s society, they have accomplished the goal. And by doing it one piece at a time they break down anything attached to them until they can tell the whole society what to do. So, conquer is a very expressive word and can’t be simply applied. Switzerland is not prepared for the type of attack terrorists execute.
Look at the Britts. The islamists have slowly taken over a a large enough group of their government to sustain votes and create laws designed to aid in their control. The UK government has allowed unofficial bodies like Sharia councils or the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal to handle personal or civil disputes (such as Islamic marriages or divorces) on a voluntary basis. Campaigns like The Muslim Vote and initiatives by the Muslim Council of Britain have focused on encouraging turnout, supporting independent or mainstream candidates, and raising issues such as foreign policy and healthcare. Terrorist groups active in their country are:
• Daesh (ISIS/ISIL)
• Al-Qa’ida
• Hamas (including its political and military wings)
• Hezbollah (including the External Security Organisation)
• Hizb ut-Tahrir
Each has representation in government. And it has further relinquishing more and more control by diplomatic policy historically emphasizing maintaining open channels of communication with various global factions to facilitate peace dialogue, a practice that drew domestic debate and criticism. This was a function of traditional Swiss neutrality rather than domestic party representation and offers a substantial increase in their domestic problems.
The US is the same way. We have a very active group of terorists in our government and more running.
Switzerland has their problem in the beginning stages of sole active actions. According to their Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) reports, the primary threat stems from spontaneous acts by individuals or radicalized youth inspired online using accessible items like knives or vehicles. Thus critical infrastructure faces growing exposure to combined physical sabotage and cyberattacks linked to wider geopolitical tensions as the growth of them continues. They are making the same mistake the US liberals have used in their interaction with terroist groups in that they try to kill them with kindness until it is far past that possibility and they are hurt.
wy69
I don’t know how terrorism got onto this thread, but good luck with it.
“I don’t know how terrorism got onto this thread, but good luck with it.”
For most of the past twenty-five years, violent extremism has been understood as a security threat requiring hard security measures. Spurred on by the U.S.-led “war on terror,” this knee-jerk response to the devastation of the 9/11 attacks and the lapses in crime intelligence that contributed to them created a hyperfocus on al-Qaeda and its affiliates globally. This focus led to military action in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the wider West Asian neighborhood.
Prevention of these attacks are the only step the world countries have from forcing them into combat. A country trying to blow up other countries areas and citizens is a pre-combat war in itself. If the attacks like that include bio and chem efforts by groups are not halted with an engagement, it has no other way to be controlled as a skirmish and it will most times lead to total warfare that Switzerland is not prepared for.
wy69
Switzerland will do fine, remain strong, improve and modernize their defenses, and its people will be far more better protected against NBC than Americans, the best NBC population protection in the world.
“...the best NBC population protection in the world.”
If it is the best, it won’t be the answer as everyone is open for attacks. An example was covid. Switzerland recorded over 3.6 million total COVID-19 cases and more than 14,000 deaths over the course of the pandemic. It faced severe second and winter waves in late 2020 that strained hospitals and led to sharp surges in mortality. Compared to hard-hit neighbors like Italy or Spain, Switzerland avoided strict, mandatory confinement orders, opting instead for targeted business closures, event limits, and later a COVID certificate requirement for indoor public spaces. Primary care and hospital pharmacies faced severe logistical hurdles, including acute shortages of critical sedatives and anesthetics like propofol during peak wave. And the government stopped testing mild cases after late 2021. So they don’t actually know the extent. The population of Switzerland is just over 9 million.
As for the fallout of it, gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by a record 10.5% during the first half of 2020, and tens of thousands of individuals lost their jobs. The use of the virus was accomplished. And it was a planned attack to everyone from China. And Switzerland was not prepared for it.
wy69
LOL, now it’s Covid, you are one nutty guy.
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