BERN - The Federal Council has formally taken position against the popular initiative that wants to take the bang out of Swiss celebrations. In its message to parliament, released on Thursday, the government acknowledges that loud fireworks are perceived as a nuisance by part of the population and can trigger severe reactions in animals. Its verdict, all the same, is a clear no: the noise and the particulate emissions cited by the initiative committee are temporary and comparatively low, it says, and many people in the country associate very positive emotions with setting off fireworks.
The initiative, titled "For a restriction on fireworks", would ban the sale of loud pyrotechnics such as firecrackers and bangers to private individuals, and would prohibit private use of them altogether. Exceptions would remain for major supraregional events, such as national day celebrations, under permits issued by the cantons. The electorate votes on 29 November.
Rösti fronts the no campaign
Albert Rösti, the environment minister, defended the government's line in front of the media on Thursday. The nuisances, he argued, remain limited in space and in time, and fireworks belong to Swiss traditions, notably the 1 August national holiday and New Year's Eve. The government takes the protection of people, animals and the environment very seriously, he said, and measures to cut noise and pollution are already in place.
The core of the government's case is federalist. Cantons and municipalities, it says, already dispose of the legal basis to restrict fireworks where local circumstances require it, and several have used it. A uniform national restriction on sale and use would therefore go further than the problem justifies. Parliament has taken the same view, so voters on 29 November will see a united recommendation from Bern to reject the text.
One of four questions on the ballot
The fireworks question shares the ballot with three heavier items. The most time-critical is the rise in VAT from 8.1 to 8.5 percent that is meant to fund the 13th state pension, whose first payout is scheduled for December. Voters also decide on a renewed attempt to introduce individual taxation for married couples, after a first version passed narrowly in March, and on an amendment loosening the export of Swiss war materiel.
Campaign money is expected to concentrate on the pension funding question, which leaves the fireworks initiative fighting for attention. The committee behind it relies on the animal welfare and environmental argument, pointing to the distress of pets, wildlife and livestock every August and December. The government is betting that for most voters, the crackle over the lake on national day is a memory worth more than the nuisance is worth a ban.