“Basic income supporters across Europe felt a huge boost through the Swiss referendum, finally the idea has made a breakthrough into mainstream media and public debates in many countries thanks to popular support,” said Nicole Teke, Board Member of UBIE and International Coordinator of the French Basic Income Movement MFRB. “This is now officially a discussion on the highest level of political decision making, whether in France, Finland, the Netherlands or elsewhere. As the European network that collected nearly 300.000 signatures for the European Citizens’ Initiative on Basic Income in 2013, we will continue to promote this debate in all countries as well as on EU level,” she concluded.
Although only 23% of the electorate voted ‘yes’ this time, even those who didn’t support this particular proposal think basic income will not be going away. According to the last survey before the vote, two-thirds of all voters believe that the discussion on basic income has just begun, and even 62% of ‘no’ voters expect another referendum on basic income within the coming years.
