1. February 2004

On February 8th, the Swiss electorate reject the Avanti counter-proposal with a majority of 62.8%; at a canton level the road lobby even suffers a 26:0 defeat. Shortly before the 10th anniversary of the constitutional article for the protection of the Alps, the Swiss thus clearly reject an undermining of the protection of the Alps. Contrary to a majority of the parliament, the Swiss people do not want to have anything to do with doubling the capacity of the St. Gotthard road tunnel. This success confirms the Alpine Initiative in its commitment.