The federal popular initiative is an instrument of direct democracy in Switzerland. It allows citizens to propose changes to the Swiss Federal Constitution. A votation will be organised for every proposition of modification that collected 100,000 valid signatures in 18 months. The most frequent themes tackled by initiatives are healthcare, taxes, welfare, drug policy, public transport, immigration, asylum, and education. There are only two kinds of restrictions on the content:
It is different from the mandatory referendum in that the proposition to change the constitution comes from the population and not from the parliament. The authorities, even if they don't like it, cannot prevent an initiative which has collected enough signatures from being held, but they can make a counter proposal, known as counter-project. A double majority of people and cantons is required to change the constitution. Popular initiatives exist at the federal, cantonal and communal levels.
History
Popular initiatives were introduced as a tool at the federal level in the 1891 partial revision of the Swiss Federal Constitution. Between 1893 and 2014, out of a total of 192 federal initiatives put to the vote, 22 were successful. Another 73 were withdrawn, mostly in favour of a counter-proposal. The first successful initiative was the first ever launched, asking for "prohibition of slaughter without prior anesthesia". The successful initiatives date to the following years: 1893, 1908, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1928, 1949, 1982, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2014. Successful initiatives were thus quite rare, with a gap of 20 years during 1929-1949, and even of more than 30 years during 1949-1982 during which not a single initiative found favour with the electorate. In the 21st century, the picture changes significantly, with five successful initiatives during the 2000s, and another five just during 2010-2014. Among the 170 rejected initiatives, there are several that still played a major role in Swiss politics. Notable among them, also for the high voter turnout they inspired, were the anti-immigration initiatives of James Schwarzenbach in 1970 and 1974, and the 1989 initiative with the aim of abolishing the Swiss Army.
Suggested revisions
At the time of its introduction to the Swiss Constitution in 1891, the federal initiative system was initially meant to let groups that were not represented in the parliamentary process voice their concerns. Since the 2000s, it has been increasingly used by political parties to bypass the parliamentary process. Some critics argue that it undermines the whole Swiss political system, based on compromise and adaptation to one another, as it suppresses any possibility to negotiate on an issue. Others argue that it is democracy in its purest form. Critics also argue that the multiplication of initiatives undermines the stability of the legal framework, as initiatives proposing drastic reforms are more and more frequent.
