- Almost four months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the population in Switzerland feels a little less threatened than when the war broke out.
- This is shown by a survey by the Swiss research institute Link.
- A majority of respondents are still willing to support the economic sanctions against Russia and would even support further measures.
Concerns about a further escalation of the Ukraine war remain high, according to a poll conducted by Link among 2,422 people. A large majority of respondents expressed concern that Russia could use chemical or nuclear weapons.
Around two in three respondents fear the conflict could lead to a third world war. And almost every second person is concerned about the escalation of the conflict into a major war, which could also affect Switzerland.
Additional information
According to Link, the fact that, despite these high numbers, concerns have in some cases significantly decreased compared to the first survey in mid-March, suggests that there has been a certain familiarization effect. Confronted with daily horrific images of war, the interviewees are still aware of the threat, but they are less afraid of it.
Clear no to military measures
Two-thirds of respondents (64 percent) agreed in the June survey that Switzerland should make a clear commitment to Ukraine and fully implement EU sanctions against Russia.
At the same time, neutrality itself continues to be highly valued by the population, writes the research institute. 59 percent of those surveyed said that Switzerland should behave neutrally towards Russia and Ukraine. A large majority of 78 percent also thinks that Switzerland should play a mediating role in this conflict. Military measures are clearly rejected.
Half of those surveyed also reject NATO membership. Although this rejection has fallen since March – shortly after the Russian attack on February 24 – it is still more than twice as high as approval for Switzerland to join NATO (23 percent). Closer cooperation between Switzerland and NATO, on the other hand, met with broad approval, at 55 percent.
Political rift on the question of neutrality
While there is a non-partisan majority in support of sanctions and the question of Switzerland’s role as a mediator, the political divide has widened over the past three months with regard to fundamental questions of neutrality: while respondents from the right-wing spectrum and from the center are in majority who want to maintain neutrality towards Russia and Ukraine, this did not find a majority among the politically more left-wing.
Since March, the group of supporters of neutrality has increased on the right and in the centre. In addition, there is now almost no majority on the right to support the sanctions of the EU in full. According to Link, a similar picture emerges with regard to NATO: people who belong more to the right of the political spectrum are more likely to reject NATO membership than people on the left.