Innsbruck 2002

EAPC • Europe Meeting • May 1 to 4, 2002 • Innsbruck /Austria

Speeches

Horst Becker
Erhard Busek
Michael Carmichael
Ana Fernandes
Peter Frei
Helmut Mader
Dominik Meier
Joe Napolitan
Fritz Plasser
Guido Schommer
Carlo Willeit


Peter Frei

The Campaign for Swiss UN Membership

1. Starting Situation
A Yes majority vote is far more difficult to achieve in a referendum because sticking to the status quo is easier than agreeing to a change. Inner conviction is required on the part of the individual voter to obtain a Yes vote. The second hurdle in the referendum on UNO membership was obtaining a majority amongst the cantons. Another special feature was the starting situation since this involved a people's initiative which was supported by the Federal Council, a majority of the parties and of the Parliament as well as virtually all the relevant organisations (with the exception of SVP, AUNS).

2. Date
The strategic decision to support joining the UNO had already been taken by economiesuisse and the Liberal Party as Leader of the Political Committee in January 2001 and comprised the following three phases:
o Yes campaign for review of the Military Act (referendum June 2001) the content of which was focused on "volunteer nature" and "self-defence"
o Preliminary campaign for UNO membership between July and December 2001 with the Switzerland-UNO Delegate Information Group and stressing the good co-operation as well as information on the activity of the UNO
o Main campaign January and February 2002

3. Strategic Considerations, Argumentation
Research confirmed the assumption that the image of the UNO and knowledge of the UNO was not all that high at the outset (beginning 2001). A positive image of the UNO was considered a prerequisite for a vote in favour of membership. The aim of the preliminary campaign was therefore to provide information on the UNO and to raise its image. This was done through emotive pictures and through undisputed as well as well-known sub-organisations of the UNO.
The difficulty in the campaign entailed highlighting the benefits of membership to the Swiss people. This cannot be portrayed in Francs and Rappen but instead lies on a higher plain, something which is difficult for the individual to comprehend, namely that of the enhanced image (or loss of image in the event of a No vote) and representation of interests. In accordance with the democratic tradition of Switzerland, an additional focus in the argumentation was placed on participation. In view of the few arguments on the benefits, negative messages were also formulated. This produced the following key messages:

    Contribute and participate
    Staying outside will cost more
    Take a confident view of our strengths

Finally, the task was to provide a timely and appropriate answer to the opponent's arguments that can be anticipated at an early stage. It was clear early on that the risk to neutrality did not represent an argument that would be capable of obtaining a majority, even if the opponents persisted with this approach. The following claims had to be countered:
    Costs
    Loss of sovereignty
    Right of veto and major power
    Deployment of troop

4. Dialogue Groups
It was clear on the basis of the preliminary analyses that from the geographic aspect the referendum will be decided in the so-called "wavering" cantons - primarily Wallis, Aargau and Lucerne and secondly Graubünden and St.Gallen.
Equally clear were the socio-democratic features of convinced supporters and opponents. However, the characteristics of the undecided who needed to be won over for a Yes vote were crucial. These were the roughly 40 to 50-year olds in the rural regions working in the skilled trades/professions, without any party loyalties.
In order to counter the extensive efforts by the opponents to mobilise the older groups amongst the population, special attention was paid to the young by those supporting a Yes vote. The campaign management worked on the assumption that within this group there would be a considerable number in favour but that additional mobilisation was needed. The same applied to those sympathising with parties on the Left.

5. Delegates
The delegates were elected accordingly

    Switzerland-UNO Information Group as an umbrella group of all the organisations in       Switzerland in support of membership, for the preliminary campaign
    Political Committee with representatives from all parties for the main campaign
    "Yes to Switzerland - Yes to the UNO" Committee with a regional emphasis on Central       Switzerland and Aargau as well as conservative arguments
    Economic Committee for membership of the UNO
    Cantonal, cross-party committees

Support groups for reaching the target groups

    Amalgamation of the parties representing the young
    Amalgamation of the intellectuals
    Left Committee "Civil Yes"

6. Challenges
Incorporation of the heterogeneous support into a more or less standardised strategy, prevention of disruptive action by individual supporters, profiling of membership as a matter for the people whilst simultaneously mobilising the electorate on the Left.

8. Finances
The financial cost of the pro-campaign supported by economiesuisse came to around 5 million CHF.

9. Surveys
Regular representative surveys were carried out to test the voting patterns and the messages both throughout Switzerland as well as in individual cantons.

10. Canton Majority
12 cantons are needed for a canton majority. However, this was more than in question at the beginning of the campaign. By contrast, a majority vote in favour was within the bound of possibilities in the Swiss Romande and the major conurbations. On the basis of an analysis of the non-political referenda over the last 20 years we formulated a system of canton ranking. This showed 10 relatively safe cantons (ZH, BS/BL, ZG, SO, BE, FR, JU, VD, GE, NE). On the other side were the significantly uncertain cantons SZ, UR, OW/NW, AR/AI, TG, SH, GL. The following were identified as actual 'waver' cantons, listed in order of their potential for a Yes vote: VS, LU, AG, SG, GR. On the basis of this preliminary analysis the campaign management decided to increase its involvement in the cantons VS, LU and AG. 2 of these had to be won over to a Yes vote. This calculation worked out precisely.

With this choice of colours we were able to create an independent and concise presence for the individual campaign elements. In particular, the two red and orange lines attracted greater attention in the misty, overcast winter.
Conscious emphasis was placed on selecting a conservative graphic presence, bearing in mind the main target groups.

13. The Results
Contrary to the vote of 1986, the Majority of the Swiss People and of the Swiss Cantons adopted the Swiss UN Membership 3, march 2002.