As BINews already reported[1], on 21st April 2012, Switzerland is starting a petition for a referendum on basic income with a big party in Zurich. BINews also reported[2], that, last year in June, the National Council of Switzerland rejected a parliamentary initiative on unconditional basic income.
On 12th April 2012, a press-conference on launching the basic income petition was held in Bern. After this the media response in Switzerland has been huge. Even TV broadcasted news and reports which mentioned the petition for BIG referendum.[3] Some articles are also available in English.[4]
Obviously, not all articles argued that the idea is reasonable, but some did, and some reported neutral while providing pro and contra positions. However, some articles were not well researched, and gave the impression that journalists had not properly understood some basic facts.[5]
It remains to be seen if the initiative will accomplish at least 100,000 valid signatures within 18 months, and if further reports are published in the international press.
[1] https://binews.org/2012/03/switzerland-petition-drive-for-a-referendum-on-a-basic-income/
[2] https://binews.org/2011/06/switzerland-national-council-rejects-basic-income-initiative/
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NIxmqD2GTw (German)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r-5Cs5mT9M (German)
[4] https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Initiative_launched_for_guaranteed_income.html?cid=32468670
[5] In a illustrative article, for instance, BIEN-Switzerland is presented as BIEN itself, whereas it is only one of the numerous recognized national networks: https://www.thelocal.ch/national/20120412_3074.html
