Switzerland to vote on plan to cap population at 10 million

Can a country put a fixed limit on its population? That is the question Switzerland will be answering on Sunday when voters go the polls to decide on a proposal to cap their population at 10 million. The move is backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, which describes it as a “sustainability initiative” aimed at easing pressure on housing, public services and the environment. The Swiss government, all other major parties, business leaders and trade unions have dubbed the proposal a “chaos initiative”, arguing it will deprive hospitals and hotels of much needed staff, and damage hard-won relations with…