It's Too Close to Call in Swiss Vote to Shut Down Nukes

Gösgen Nuclear Power Plant, Däniken, Switzerland

After the disaster at Fukushima, Japan, countries around the world are dealing with the question of whether or not they should shut down their own nuclear power plants.

The next country to make such a decision will be Switzerland, where voters will head to the polls for a referendum on the issue on Sunday, May 21.

Swissinfo.ch writes that polling currently shows an advantage in support for those who favor shutting down the plants and replacing them with renewable power sources.

But the data also shows there’s a large contingent of swing voters who haven’t fully committed to one side or the other. Urs Geiser writes:

Support for the government’s energy policy appears to be waning but voters are still likely to approve a phase-out of nuclear power and a boost for local renewable energy combined with increased energy efficiency.

A second and final opinion poll, carried out by the leading GfS Bern research institute and published on Wednesday, found 56% of respondents backing the Energy Strategy 2050, which will come to a nationwide vote on May 21.

Compared with a first poll in early April, supporters are still 19 percentage points ahead, despite losing 5%, while opponents gained 7% over the past few weeks. Seven percent of those questioned are still undecided.

“Approval of the energy law remains more likely than a rejection,” the GfS Bern institute declared in its report.

However, it is too early to call the outcome, cautions Claude Longchamp, chairman of the board of the GfS polling institute.

Voters close to the centre-right Radical Party and those without a clear party affiliation could swing the result.