ZURICH, June 3 (Reuters) – Swiss voters look set to reject a referendum proposal to cap the country’s population at 10 million people, according to an opinion poll published on Wednesday.
Concern about rapid growth in Switzerland’s population, which climbed to 9.1 million last year from 7.3 million in 2002, and its impact on public infrastructure has fed support for the proposal.
The initiative, which goes to a vote on June 14, stipulates the permanent resident population must not exceed 10 million before 2050, and that Switzerland should end its freedom of movement accord with the European Union.
About 52% of the 19,400 respondents polled between May 19 and May 27 are against the proposal, with 45% in favour, according to the survey carried out by GFS Bern for public broadcaster SRG. The rest were undecided.
A previous poll carried out at the end of April showed the Swiss evenly split, with 47% in favour and 47% against.
The Swiss government is opposed to the initiative launched by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), saying it will damage cooperation with the EU, Switzerland’s main trade partner, hurting the economy.
Its supporters have cited concerns about infrastructure, particularly housing, transport, schools and hospitals, becoming overloaded due to the strong increase in immigration.
Other arguments have included using immigration controls to protect the environment from rapid population growth and to curb crime and violence.
Opponents cited concerns about a breach with the EU a legal limit on immigration would cause, while others said Switzerland needed foreign skilled workers.
(Reporting by John Revill)
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