On February 9, 2014, the Swiss voted in a non-binding referendum by a narrow
margin (50.3%) in favor of immigration quotas and an end to “mass immigration.”[1]
This result took the government by surprise; officials had been urging the
people to vote no. So too had the Swiss bankers—only coincidentally of course. Just
enough voters rebuffed the establishment of power and wealth for the referendum
to pass. Johann Schneider-Ammane, the Swiss Economy Minister, suggested that a “culture
of excess” in the pursuit of profit sometimes at the expense of the common good
had discredited the political and business elite in the eyes of ordinary people.
