(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - People in Switzerland are almost evenly divided on a proposed ban on polluting off-road vehicles, sport utility vehicles and sports cars, according to a poll by Isopublic. 45 per cent of respondents would vote in favour of banning such vehicles under certain circumstances in an upcoming referendum, while 44.2 per cent would vote against.

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 GPS’s youth wing has proposed an initiative that would ban off-road vehicles, sport utility vehicles and sports cars with high emission rates. The proposal would also force all new cars to emit less than 250 grams of carbon dioxide, and make it mandatory for diesel engines to be fitted with particle filters. The proposal has been dubbed "the anti 4x4" bill.

In late July, the Green’s Bastien Girod released a list of 65 car models that would be affected if the measure is approved. On Aug. 2, Girod dismissed critics of his initiative, saying, "Those who get upset don’t understand that very few models will be touched by this measure; 13 per cent of all vehicles are involved, and six of these 13 per cent models can be transformed to fit the new regulations."

A date for the vote on this matter has not been set yet.

Polling Data

The youth wing of the Green Party of Switzerland (GPS) has proposed an initiative that would ban off-road vehicles, sport utility vehicles and sports cars with high emission rates. The proposal would also force all new cars to emit less than 250 grams of carbon dioxide, and make it mandatory for diesel engines to be fitted with particle filters. If a referendum on this initiative took place this Sunday, would you vote to accept it or reject it?

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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