Going against the prevailing narrative of the lobbies and the Federal Council, Reiner Eichenberger breaks a taboo: free movement of people is not an engine of prosperity, but a system whose costs are largely concealed. Behind the flattering.<\/p>\n
In an interview with L'Agefi (31 March 2026), liberal economist Reiner Eichenberger delivers a frontal critique of a pillar of Swiss policy: the free movement of people.<\/p>\n
Her thesis is unambiguous: it would cost Switzerland more than it brings in.<\/strong><\/p>\n Eichenberger questions a central dogma: more population = more prosperity.<\/p>\n He distinguishes between two economic realities:<\/p>\n Key figures mentioned:<\/p>\n Strong citation:<\/p>\n \u00abThe average citizen lives off GDP per capita, but certain elites live off total GDP.\u00bb<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The population growth mainly benefits structures (administrations, large companies), not necessarily the population.<\/p>\n One of Eichenberger's major contributions here is:<\/p>\n The costs of free movement are massive\u2026 but largely unmeasured.<\/strong><\/p>\n He points:<\/p>\n Key citation:<\/p>\n \u00abAcross more than 1,000 pages of the Federal Council's message, there are no figures on the costs.\u00bb<\/p><\/blockquote>\n A direct critique of the current political debate: We measure the profits, we ignore the costs.<\/strong><\/p>\n Contrary to the prevailing discourse, Eichenberger states that:<\/p>\n Immigration doesn't eliminate shortages... it displaces them.<\/p>\n Citation :<\/p>\n \u00abImporting labour prevents the market from playing its role.\u00bb<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Another structural effect:<\/p>\n Rather than quotas, Eichenberger proposes a liberal approach:<\/p>\n Price immigration<\/strong><\/p>\n In concrete terms :<\/p>\n Talking picture:<\/p>\n \u00abA good hotel welcomes its guests... but not for free.\u00bb<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Objective:<\/p>\n His reasoning fits a coherent economic logic:<\/p>\n 1. Uninternalised externalities<\/strong><\/p>\n Classic case: when a cost is not paid by the one who generates it \u2192 inefficiency<\/p>\n 2. Market signal distortion<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00abFree\u00bb immigration = false price \u2192 misallocation of resources<\/p>\n 3. Biased political arbitrage<\/strong><\/p>\n Decision-makers benefit from population growth<\/p>\n The citizens are feeling the effects (housing, congestion, pressure)<\/p>\n Eichenberger goes further by attacking a widely held idea:<\/p>\n Free movement as a liberal value.<\/p>\n Citation :<\/p>\n \u00abFree access to the fruits of a country's labour is a communist idea.\u00bb<\/p><\/blockquote>\n An intellectual provocation that forces one to rethink:<\/p>\n Reiner Eichenberger's analysis has the merit of raising a fundamental question:<\/p>\n And what if the problem wasn't immigration itself... but its lack of price?<\/strong><\/p>\n In a country with strong attractiveness like Switzerland, ignoring the costs is tantamount to organising saturation.<\/p>\n As the 14 June vote approaches, one question arises:<\/p>\n How much does freedom of movement really cost \u2013 and who is footing the bill?<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00c0 rebours du discours dominant des lobbies et du Conseil f\u00e9d\u00e9ral, Reiner Eichenberger brise un tabou : la libre circulation des personnes n’est pas un moteur de prosp\u00e9rit\u00e9, mais un syst\u00e8me dont les co\u00fbts sont largement occult\u00e9s. Derri\u00e8re les chiffres flatteurs et les promesses d\u2019ouverture, son analyse met en lumi\u00e8re une r\u00e9alit\u00e9 plus nuanc\u00e9e \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politique-interieure","category-ue"],"yoast_head":"\nGrowth that enriches the system\u2026 but not the citizens<\/h3>\n
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The real blind spot: invisible costs<\/h3>\n
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Immigration and the labour market: a counterproductive mechanism?<\/h3>\n
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A radical proposal: \u00abinternalise the costs\u00bb<\/h3>\n
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Further analysis: what this really changes<\/h3>\n
A challenge to the political consensus<\/h3>\n
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Conclusion \u2014 the real debate begins now<\/h3>\n