Swiss voters have rejected a plan to put Swiss court rulings ahead of international ones. However, they approved allowing insurers to spy on customers and against a ban on the dehorning of cows.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/L. Venace
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Some 66 percent of voters and all of the country's 26 cantons voted on Sunday against the "Swiss law, not foreign judges" measure.
The measure, backed by right wing groups, called for domestic law to be placed above international law, a move that opponents claim would damage the neutral country's global standing.
The anti-migrant, right wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) had sought to portray the measure as essential for safeguarding national sovereignty.
However, government and business groups were staunchly opposed. They warned that hundreds of vital trade deals could have been put at risk by a formal repudiation of international courts.
Switzerland's direct democracy system allows voters to cast ballots on national issues four times a year.
Swiss voters were also deciding on a proposed constitutional amendment to preserve cow horns headed by a livestock farmer inspired by talking to his herd of cattle. The agricultural provision against the dehorning of cows was ultimately defeated by a slim margin, with 55 percent nixing it.
With his long beard and array of woolen caps, farmer Capaul has become a household name — and face — across SwitzerlandImage: Reuters/D. Balibouse
Safeguarding cows
Ahead of the referendum, much of the public attention had been focused on the unusual grassroots campaign, which began with few resources and no political support: Farmer Armin Capaul collected more than 100,000 signatures — the amount needed to force a national vote on protecting cows' horns.
Capaul's cows gave him the idea to push for Sunday's referendum. "I always talk to my cows in the barn," he said. "They asked me if I could do something for them, if I could help them keep their horns," he said.
Despite the defeat, Capaul said that his larger effort to protect cattle from unnecessary human abuse had not been a failure. "I've alerted people about animal suffering and I've put the cow in the heart of the people," he told Swiss public broadcaster RTS.
Meanwhile, an estimated 64.7 percent of voters ultimately backed the government on allowing insurance companies to spy on clients.
Sunday's vote brought to a head years of public debate on the issue: Insurers in the wealthy Alpine nation had long spied on customers suspected of making false claims, but the practice was halted in 2016 following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.
The Swiss government, however, insisted that such surveillance was necessary to curb insurance fraud and keep costs low for all. Following the European court's decision, Bern updated its legislation to restore surveillance powers to insurers.
Opponents of the revised surveillance law then mobilized enough supporters to force a referendum.
"What the Swiss wanted to show was that the social safety net is important, but that [for it to work] we all have to be absolutely responsible," Benjamin Roduit of the center-right Christian Democratic Party told RTS.
Happy Birthday, Switzerland
Fireworks, folklore and flags: August 1 is Switzerland's national holiday. The small country will be celebrating with songs and symbols. From Heidi to alphorns: we show you what makes Switzerland so special.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gerten
The mountain calls
The Swiss and their mountains: picture postcard scenery and a hiker's paradise with cows, meadows and pastures. Switzerland boasts 48 four-thousand-meter peaks and 1161 that hit the three thousand mark. Whether it's the Jungfrau, Mönch or Eiger, if you visit Switzerland, you simply must scale the heights. Then there's the Matterhorn: 4478 meters and world's most photographed mountain.
Image: picture-alliance/Flowerphotos/M. Peuckert
Higher, faster, farther
"Uffe" means "upwards" in Swiss German, and that's where cogwheel railways, funiculars and chair lifts take you. There are more than 1800 mountain railways in this small country, among them famous ones like the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz - one of the loveliest rail routes in the world. "The world's slowest express train" has had UNESCO World Heritage status since 2008.
Image: swiss-image.ch/Jeroen Seyffer
Of cows and bells
The cow is effectively Switzerland's heraldic animal. From cow beauty contests to cow trekking to cow carving, the national animal is ubiquitous. And, of course, no one is allowed to hurt a cow. A court decided after hearing complaints that loud cowbells could not be classified as harmful to health - at least, during the day.
Image: picture-alliance/H. Lade Fotoagentur GmbH
Meltingly marvelous
Show dairies that demonstrate cheese-making, cheese hikes and cheese workshops: Switzerland is a cheese country. The Swiss eat nearly 20,000 tons a year. And of course they hold the record in fondue-eating. Appenzeller is one of more than 450 varieties of cheese here. Its recipe remains a secret to this day, even though people have often tried to discover the source of its unique flavor.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Keystone/P. Klaunzer
Alpine sounds
Once mocked as the shepherds' begging horn, the alphorn is now a national Swiss symbol. The long wooden horn can produce sounds that are audible up to 10 kilometers away. The instruments come to the fore every year at the International Alphorn Festival in Nendaz, and they have even been played at the Eurovision Song Contest. The world's longest alphorn, by the way, is 47 meters in length.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/V. Pinauda
Good-natured and friendly
The best-known dogs in the Alps are the Saint Bernards, the avalanche-detecting dogs with kegs of brandy at their necks, bred to sniff out people buried in the snow. The absolute star among Saint Bernards is Barry. Before he died in 1814, he is said to have saved the lives of 40 people. Now Barry is on display in Bern's Natural History Museum. People come from as far as Japan to see him.
Image: iriskuerschner.com
Heidi's world
She's the typical Swiss country girl: Heidi, the maiden from the mountains whose story is known globally, from Maienfeld, Heidi's village, where you can immerse yourself in her world, to Japan and the US. Johanna Spyri's novel has sold 50 million copies. In Turkey, Heidi is one of the most popular children's books ever.
Image: picture-alliance/Arco Images GmbH/De Meester, J.
The chocolate pioneers
It's thanks to Swiss chocolate-makers that chocolate is so sweet and smooth textured. In the 18th century it was sold in pharmacies as an aphrodisiac. Others considered it to be nothing but poison. Nowadays we know better. The Swiss eat 10 kilos of it per capita every year. Only the Germans eat more chocolate.
Image: picture-alliance/Arco Images/J. Kruse
As accurate as Swiss clockwork
Swiss watchmakers, with their magnifying glasses and fine-pointed tweezers, have been making a name for themselves worldwide since the 16th century - from magnificent table clocks for the nobility to chic watches for everyone. The center of the watchmaking industry lies in the middle of the Jura Mountains in towns such as La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle and Biel/Bienne.
First produced in 1897 as an officers' pocket knife, the Swiss Army Knife is now even available in pink and can include a USB stick. NASA astronauts swear by the small multi-tool. The Victorinox company in Ibach makes 6 million of them annually. Here you can even create your very own knife when visiting its museum.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kembowski
Country of tunnels
There are more than 1300 tunnels in Switzerland. Laid end to end, they would cover the distance between Denmark and Sicily. It's no surprise that the Swiss are world champions when it comes to tunnel building. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is 57 kilometers in length, the longest railway tunnel in the world. You can even take a guided tour of this spectacular structure.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Flueeler
Not just one Switzerland
In the 19th century the beauty of Switzerland led to émigrés giving its name to landscapes that reminded them of it, and to the adoption of the term elsewhere. The Saxon Switzerland in Germany (pictured) and Little Switzerland in the US are just two examples. Nowadays almost 200 regions and places worldwide bear the title "Switzerland."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/T. Eisenhuth
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kl/rc (AP, AFP, Reuters, Tribune de Geneve, Neue Zürcher Zeitung)
