Attention disgruntled citizens: If you feel no one’s been listening to your concerns, Switzerland’s got a strategy for you. The Swiss system of ballot initiatives allows voters to have a direct say on topics such as immigration, executive pay and funding for health care. People power is on a roll, with voters approving measures to limit an influx of foreigners and let shareholders block executive bonuses. While others have failed — including a proposal for the central bank to hold a fifth of its assets in gold — government policy is regularly determined by the outcome of plebiscites. Switzerland’s direct democracy has brought populist politics to the home of multinational corporations such as Nestle SA and Novartis AG, along with warnings that it could undermine the stability that has been key to the country’s prosperity.
There’s been a surge of ballot initiatives: more than 75 since 2000, and there are about two dozen in the pipeline. That’s more than all the ballots in the 80 years after they began in 1891. A controversial measure to expel foreigners convicted of crimes was shot down in 2016, as were initiatives to provide a basic income and cut the pay of executives at state-controlled companies. Historically, the Swiss have backed free enterprise. Yet in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, when Switzerland bailed out its largest bank, UBS, voters are taking a more skeptical view of big business. They overwhelmingly approved what became known as the “fat cat” rule in 2013, giving shareholders in Swiss companies a binding vote each year on executive pay. They opted to curb the number of newly arriving foreigners in 2014, despite warnings from companies about hurting the economy. Among the measures rejected was a proposal to cap executive salaries at 12 times the earnings of the lowest-paid employee and a minimum wage of 22 francs ($22) per hour, which would’ve been the world’s highest.
