(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - People in Switzerland are divided on whether the government should follow the American example and bail out banks if they were to collapse, according to a poll by Isopublic. 46.9 per cent of respondents would agree with a rescue plan, while 45 per cent would reject it.

Since 1959, Switzerland has formed its government under a power-sharing agreement known as the "Magic Formula." The country’s four major political parties are represented in the seven-post cabinet.

In October 2007, the ultra-nationalist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) secured 62 seats in the Council—seven more than in 2003—followed by the Social-Democratic Party of Switzerland (SPS) with 43 mandates, the Freethinking-Democratic Party of Switzerland (FDP) and the Christian Democratic People’s Party (CVP) with 31 seats each, and the Green Party of Switzerland (GPS) with 20 mandates.

The United States government has agreed to bail out three different financial institutions this year as they have completely collapsed amidst a deep crisis in the so-called sub-prime mortgage sector. On Sept.7, mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were rescued by the government in one of the largest bailouts in U.S. history. Other financial institutions—including Bear Stearns, Merril Lynch, Lehman Brothers, American International Group (AIG), IndyMac Bancorp and Washington Mutual—have been sold, placed under bankruptcy protection, or received emergency loans from the Federal Reserve.

On Oct. 2, Beat Wittmann, chief executive officer of investment products at Switzerland’s Julius Baer Holding, discussed the current state of affairs, saying, "We’ve been buying financials for the last two weeks, selectively, which we haven’t done since 2007. We’re in capitulation territory and that’s how the bottom of a market is created."

Polling Data

Suppose a Swiss bank collapses like some American banks have. Should the Swiss government bail-out the bank?

Source: Isopublic
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,001 Swiss adults, conducted from Sept. 5 to Sept. 13, 2008. No margin of error was provided.

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