Do the Swiss see any benefits or immigration at all? Or do they just blame foreigners for high rent prices and crime? An new poll sheds some light on their views.
A poll carried out by Tamedia media group shows that 90 percent of respondents identified at least one problem related to immigration.
Most – 59 percent – cite crime as their major preoccupation.
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More than half (54 percent) are concerned about rising rents and housing shortages they attribute to the influx of foreigners.
And changes to the country’s culture and values are considered to be a problem for 50 percent of study participants.
However, these concerns don’t necessarily appear in the same order for all participants.
City dwellers, for example, place crime and housing shortage as their top priorities, while those living in rural areas are most concerned about the strain they believe foreigners place on Switzerland’s social welfare system.
Perceived problems also vary depending on respondents’ political affiliations.
Broadly speaking, the right is mainly concerned about crime and security, while the left fears a worsening of the housing shortage.
For instance, 85 percent of respondents sympathising with the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) see crime as the dominating problem, and 60 percent say this title should go to a too-rapid population growth.
These fears – in addition to concerns about the burden an increase in the number of immigrants would place on the country’s key infrastructure – has prompted the SVP to launch its controversial ‘No to 10 million’ initiative, which aims to drastically curb the influx of immigrants once Switzerland’s population reaches 10 million:
READ ALSO: What exactly does the Swiss ‘no to 10 million’ anti immigration proposal aim to do?
Perceptions are different on the other end of the political spectrum.
Among socialists (54 percent) and Green Liberals (57 percent), the main negative aspect associated with immigration is the increased pressure on the rental market.
All other sources of concern cited by the hard-right received less than half of the votes.
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And now for the upsides of immigration
Here too, the levels of support for immigration depend on the party affiliation.
Again, the optimism is highest among the left-wing parties.
These respondents, primarily those identifying with socialists and greens, see mostly positive aspects of immigration.
Among those groups, the main benefit of immigration is seen in the context of the country’s chronic labour shortage – an important point for 43 percent of respondents.
For 28 percent – a relatively low figure – Switzerland’s economy also benefits from the free movement of people agreement with the EU.
READ ALSO: How immigrants keep Switzerland’s economy running
