The Other Swiss Referendum

14 December 2009, 1713 EST

Recently Switzerland got a lot of press over the results of its referendum on religious architecture. But almost no coverage globally of another ballot measure last month: an initiative to ban the export of military weapons abroad. The initiative was voted down by more than a 2/3 majority on the same day as the minaret ban, according to SwissInfo:

Official results show 68.2 per cent of voters against the initiative and 31.5 per cent for. Turnout was above average, at 53 per cent.

It’s ironic that activists in a country where neutrality is so much a part of national identity would have so much trouble drumming up support for such a policy.