Switzerland votes on Sunday, September 26, and could become one of the new countries to legalize marriage for all, thus aligning itself with the vast majority of Western European countries.
The polling stations will be open until noon local time, but in Switzerland things are decided before the date of the poll with the postal vote and the country has been covered, for weeks, with posters of the two rival camps.
“Do not miss the opportunity to take part in this historic step towards equality”, proclaimed the supporters of the yes Saturday while the pride marches in recent weeks have also galvanized the troops. The non camp has regained its colors as the date of the vote approaches but remains very largely in the minority.
Opinion polls give supporters of homosexual union a comfortable advantage, such as that of the gfs.bern institute carried out between 1er and September 9 which gave 55% to the yes and 27% to the no. Its previous opinion poll, conducted between August 2 and August 16, showed a larger gap, at 55% and 20% respectively.
Shocking posters of opponents
The poll highlighted that certain religious groups and members of the right-wing popular party the Union Démocratique du Center (UDC) – Switzerland’s largest party – were the main opponents, but within these groups themselves supporters of the yes are not lacking.
Switzerland decriminalized homosexuality in 1942, but various municipal or cantonal police forces had – in some cases until the beginning of the 1990s – registers of homosexuals.
Same-sex couples can already enter into a civil pact, but the new text provides that same-sex couples can adopt a child jointly. Female couples will also be able to resort to sperm donation, one of the most controversial points.
Opponents focused their campaign – which was marked by shock posters – on this point, deploring the commodification of the child and judging that “Marriage for all kills the father”.
On one of their posters, we can see a crying baby, with an ear tag usually reserved for cattle, with this inscription: “Babies to order?” “ On another, a huge zombie head, supposed to represent a father, stares at passers-by. A primary school in Valais decided to cover it up, because it frightened children.
Another national election
A second national vote is being held in parallel with the ballot on marriage for all, launched at the initiative of young people from the Socialist Party whose slogan is “Money doesn’t work, you do! “. The initiative requires that income from capital – interest, dividends, for example – be taxed 1.5 times more than income from labor.
An exemption from this tax of, for example, 100,000 francs (92,390 euros) per year is foreseen, but the additional tax revenues would be used to reduce the taxation of low and middle incomes or to finance social benefits such as nurseries, subsidies for health insurance or training, underlines the site of the supporters of this proposal.
Gfs.bern gives the losing initiative with 46% against and 26% of yes.
The UDC is also opposed to this initiative and plays on the rural and conservative fiber of many of its supporters: “Let’s fight against the caviar left of the urban centers by voting 2 × NO to the 99% initiative, and to marriage for all! “
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