Swiss wary of nationalist proposal to force referendums for all major treaties | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Swiss wary of nationalist proposal to force referendums for all major treaties

FILE - In this picture taken May 24, 2012 a poster, right, seen in Geneva, Switzerland, urging Swiss voters to reject a proposal to automatically hold a referendum whenever the government signs an important international treaty. Experts say the proposal by a nationalist group has little chance of passing in a nationwide ballot Sunday but if it did, it would severely curtail the government's power to negotiate treaties .Poster reads . Too much Democracy kills Democracy, and at bottom : No. (AP Photo/Frank Jordans)

GENEVA - Switzerland is holding a referendum — on whether to hold more referendums.

Nationalists in the Alpine republic want Swiss voters to have an automatic say every time their government signs an important international treaty.

Opponents of the plan, including most major parties, say the move could gridlock Swiss democracy by forcing votes on hundreds of treaties.

Switzerland already holds about half a dozen national referendums each year and more on local issues.

But Werner Gartenmann of the group Action for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland accused political elites Wednesday of being afraid of Swiss voters.

Gartenmann says the measure could pass Sunday despite recent polls showing that a majority of voters are against the idea.

News from © The Associated Press, 2012
The Associated Press

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