Editing Politics of Switzerland (section)

=== Challenges of direct democracy ===
When the optional referendum was first introduced in 1874 and the popular initiative was introduced in 1891, decisions by the liberal government at the time were constantly challenged and blocked through the use of these mechanisms by the conservatives who had lost the civil war in 1849. This resulted in a success rate of less than 50% for government decisions at the time. In this case, these direct democracy mechanisms directly inhibited the government’s ability to legislate and progress decisions. <ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Kübler |first=Daniel |date=2024-06-01 |title=Citizen participation through direct legislation: a road to success? A perspective from Switzerland |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43508-024-00092-7 |journal=Global Public Policy and Governance |language=en |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=184–196 |doi=10.1007/s43508-024-00092-7 |issn=2730-6305|doi-access=free }}</ref>

To resolve this problem, pre-parliamentary consultations were institutionalized in the early 20<sup>th</sup> century.  The Swiss government now undertakes procedures and practices that includes key stakeholders that would have the power and resources to challenge legislation through referendum in the process of formulating and writing legislation.  If these key groups respond negatively towards a proposed piece of legislation, the government will often sand down the edges to achieve a compromised position that is less likely to be formally challenged via a referendum or initiative.  In the last decade only approximately 5% of legislative acts were challenged to a referendum, of which over 70% were approved in the popular vote.<ref name=":2" />

To ensure that certain powerful groups do not entirely control the narrative on issues up for popular votes, there are rules in place such as prohibiting political advertising on television and radio and the media are required to provide fair and balanced accounts of events related to elections and popular votes. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Voting rights |url=https://www.ch.ch/en/votes-and-elections/votes/right-to-vote/#voting-rights-of-non-swiss-citizens |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=www.ch.ch |language=en}}</ref>