As the country considers capping its population, the drawbacks of direct democracy are up for debate. Just before 8am on an unseasonably warm spring Friday, the one-hour train from Zurich to Bern is standing-room only. A group of skiers chats loudly, jostling with their skis, while sneaker-clad government workers sit with laptops open and headphones in. Tourists are milling around the restaurant car. Anna Müller, a Swiss government worker, is fed up after arguing with a skier trying to wedge their equipment partly on to her seat. “This is why I will vote yes in June,” she says. “The trains in Switzerland are becoming too crowded.” The vote she is referring to is a national referendum this summer to cap the Alpine country’s population at 10 million people. It currently stands at 9.1 million. If Switzerland votes yes, it could threaten agreements with the EU such as the Schengen free-movement accord and limit companies’ access to skilled foreign workers. To outsiders, the proposal ...
