In Switzerland, the Real Left Fights for Neutrality

While the Swiss Social Democrats decided to oppose an initiative for a neutrality definition in the constitution, a new left-wing alliance has formed in support of the pivotal upcoming referendum.

In the fall of 2026, the Swiss will vote on a popular initiative (a referendum) called ‘Preserving Swiss Neutrality,’ which aims to enshrine strict neutrality in the country’s constitution, prohibiting the government from joining military alliances or participating directly or indirectly in military conflicts. While the constitution currently only mentions the word ‘neutrality’ but does not define it, this amendment would, for the first time, explicitly prohibit not only military involvement in conflicts but also unilateral coercive measures—aka sanctions—and reverse the dangerous trend of Switzerland copy-pasting EU sanctions.

While some denigrate the initiative as ‘right-wing’, ‘populist’, or even ‘pro-Putin’, a left-wing, internationalist committee has recently formed in support of the initiative. It advocates for Switzerland to be non-aligned and peaceful on the international stage. The committee’s founding text is the following.

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A Pacifist and Internationalist Committee for Neutrality

Convinced that Switzerland must urgently put a stop to its dangerous rapprochement with NATO and to the automatic adoption of the bellicose rhetoric of the Euro-Atlantic camp, progressive organizations, political parties, and figures on the left have come together to form a pacifist and internationalist committee for neutrality. Although the concept of neutrality has been misused by this country’s bourgeois forces and its application has often been inconsistent, we believe that, in the present situation, it is a central task of progressive forces to defend this neutrality in our country.

This committee holds that:

1. Switzerland is accelerating its rapprochement with NATO by opening a permanent liaison office in Geneva and by participating in the alliance’s joint military projects such as Sky Shield, PESCO, or ReArm Europe. A report commissioned by the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) and published in August of 2024 bluntly recommends loosening our neutrality policy in order to move closer to NATO, by taking a more active part in the alliance’s military exercises and authorizing weapons exports on a larger scale. We must recognize the gravity of this situation and the disaster it would bring for future generations in our country, especially the risk that they may be sacrificed in a future major war under the NATO flag. This risk is even openly desired by the outgoing army chief, who made no secret of his wish to send 200 Swiss soldiers to Ukraine. The initiative “Safeguarding Swiss Neutrality” prevents our country from joining a supranational military alliance such as NATO.

2. Switzerland should remain non-aligned and should not take part in the imperialist policies of the European Union and the United States, but instead convey a message of peace. Today, however, Switzerland has lost its voice on the international stage and has become little more than a mouthpiece for Atlanticist and warmongering discourse. This is a dangerous position, one that turns Switzerland into a party to the conflict. These distortions of Swiss diplomacy have repeatedly been denounced by former ambassadors and staff of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. At the outset of a new Cold War, the neutrality initiative allows the Swiss people to express their rejection of this systematic alignment, which only worsens an already delicate global situation that gives reason to fear the worst. Europe has a long tradition of non-aligned peace movements that have spoken out against rearmament and bloc confrontation. We want to strengthen this tradition and make Switzerland the only truly non-aligned country in Western Europe. The principle of neutrality, which guarantees and promotes dialogue between states, in no way prevents citizens, associations, and political parties from taking positions outside that framework.

3. Neutrality is not complicity. This message, expressed by 250 officials of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and 56 former ambassadors in open letters to Ignazio Cassis, takes on its full significance in light of the genocide in Gaza. Today, Switzerland is scandalously adopting the war propaganda of the Netanyahu government. Yet respect for human rights and international law was once the compass of Swiss foreign policy, albeit with certain deviations. A Switzerland that offers its good offices should recognize the State of Palestine (Israel is recognized by Switzerland) and work toward ending the colonization of the West Bank.

4. Switzerland should not adopt arbitrary sanctions. Economic sanctions are not only largely ineffective and in violation of the sovereignty of the countries concerned; they also starve populations and primarily damage the living conditions of the lower social classes. Nevertheless, Switzerland is at the forefront of these measures through the mechanical application of illegal EU sanctions, for example against Venezuela and Nicaragua, and through its adoption of the 15th sanctions package against Russia and Belarus. Cuba, too, is affected through the enforcement of the blockade by Swiss banks. This also has negative consequences for the European population, which, because of these sanctions, must face drastic price increases, especially in the areas of energy and food. As provided for in the initiative, Switzerland should implement only those sanctions that have been decided by the international community.

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Pacifist and Internationalist Committee for Neutrality

• Swiss Party of Labour (PdAS/PST-POP)

• Communist Party (Switzerland)

• Swiss Peace Movement

• Switzerland-Cuba Association

• Front for Neutrality and Work (No UE – No NATO)

Their homepage in french can be found here: https://www.comite-gauche-neutralite.ch/le-comité

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