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Slender Majority Approves Swiss Army Reforms
The people of Switzerland narrowly approved reforms which will change the future role of the Swiss army by a two percent margin of victory in the final results from Sunday's referendum.
Voters were deciding on two proposals, which would allow Swiss soldiers to be fully armed when taking part in international peacekeeping missions, and permit Switzerland to take part in military training exercises with other countries.
Local media reported that broadly speaking, the results in so far indicate that many parts of French-speaking western Switzerland have voted "no" to the army reforms. In general, the results also indicate a split between city and countryside, with Switzerland's urban population more in favor of the reforms.
The closeness of the race is already being interpreted by some analysts as a setback for the government, which had campaigned in favor of both proposals.
Right-wingers launched an emotional campaign, claiming that Swiss soldiers' lives would be lost on foreign battlegrounds if the proposals were approved. They also said greater Swiss involvement in the international military arena would compromise the country's neutrality.
The government, however, maintained that approving an expanded role for the army would indicate both that Switzerland was prepared to play a greater role in international peacekeeping missions, without harming the country's neutrality, and that the country was opening up for greater integration into the international community.
Swiss soldiers have taken part in international military missions, mainly in a logistic capacity. They were involved, for example, in peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo, but were unarmed and placed under Austrian protection.
Analysts hold that the vote was seen as an important test of voters' intentions, ahead of a referendum next year on United Nations membership. The government is pressing hard for Switzerland to join.
Switzerland is not a member of the U.N. A proposal to join the world body was rejected in 1986, although the Swiss are heavily involved in many U.N. agencies.
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