Swiss reject plans for bigger motorways and extra rights for landlords

No to bigger motorways, no to easier evictions and tighter subletting rules, yes to a new healthcare financing model: Swiss voters had their say on Sunday on a set of ballots which went right down to the wire. Pollsters had predicted a tight day, and in the end they were right. Of the four issues up for vote on Sunday, the biggest winning majority was 53.8% (eviction rules). And while Swiss authorities managed to avoid defeat on all four issues – another outcome mooted beforehand – they did come out with a black eye on the headline vote: a much-vaunted expansion of the country’s motorway system. Voter turnout was 45%. Motorways – voters not impressed by CHF5 billion expansion project The government’s road infrastructure plans have hit a brick wall: after a tight race, 52.7% of voters rejected a CHF5 billion ($5.6 billion) motorway expansion project. The plan, approved in parliament last year, would have involved widening or building new roads at six key points on the country’s ...