Forty-six percent of Swiss people polled by the MIS Trend institute for the Swiss weekly L’Hebdo and tabloid Blick felt that international competition will lead to job losses in Switzerland, while 39 percent said it would create jobs. Swiss-Germans were more open to competition than their francophone or Italian-speaking counterparts, and the overall number who regard such exposure as an opportunity is growing. Two years ago, just 25 percent of those polled felt it would lead to job creation, while 54 percent regarded greater competition as a threat to jobs.

 

In the latest poll, MIS Trend also found that 54 percent felt that the lowering of barriers to a foreign labour force was an advantage for Switzerland’s economic future. Thirty-nine percent thought it was more or less of a drawback, including 14 percent who had strong feeling about the trend.

 

The biggest sense of threat was reserved for wages, which the Swiss realise are relatively high here. Sixty-five percent  - six less than two years ago – expect wage levels to decline in Switzerland with international competition.

 

Despite the economic uncertainties, there are hints of greater ease on the cultural side. Fifty-four percent of those polled favoured the use of English as a means of communication between the French, German and Italian speaking communities. They were twice as enthusiastic about the idea than a sample of about 300 business and political leaders.

 

However, head south if you want to test their enthusiasm. The Italian-speaking Swiss were the most favourable (69 percent). They often speak both other Swiss national languages as well because they have to travel for jobs and higher education. The French-speaking Swiss were the most reticent – just 49 percent of them liked the idea of using English as a ‘Swiss’ language. Some 1,200 people were polled by MIS trend nationwide.