Population survey Healthcare the biggest problem for Lucerne's population for the first time

Healthcare is the biggest problem for one in five people in the canton of Lucerne. This was the result of a population survey of around 4,600 people conducted by Lustat Statistik Luzern in 2023.

It is the first time that healthcare has been ranked as the biggest problem, Lustat announced on Friday. Since 2011, traffic has always been at the top of the list of cantonal problems, said Lustat Director Norbert Riesen at a media conference.

Traffic is now in second place with 18 percent of mentions, only just behind healthcare (20 percent). Housing comes in third place (13 percent).

In the city of Lucerne, the ranking of the biggest problems is different to that of the canton as a whole. For 33 percent, traffic is the biggest problem, for 14 percent the housing supply. Riesen spoke of "classic" urban problems.

Popular canton to live in

According to the survey, 93 percent of the population like living in the canton of Lucerne or the city of Lucerne. The president of the cantonal government, Fabian Peter (FDP), concluded that there was a high level of satisfaction and hardly anyone wanted to move away.

It remained unclear why the healthcare system was now most frequently cited as the canton's biggest problem. Peter mentioned the increase in health insurance premiums last fall. The survey was also conducted at that time. The coronavirus pandemic and the shortage of specialists may also have had an impact.

Overall, satisfaction with medical care has declined. However, 88% are satisfied with the accessibility of hospitals and 81% with the accessibility of GP surgeries.

Declining interest in politics

One result of the population survey was that there is less and less interest in cantonal politics. Less than half of the population inform themselves about cantonal politics once or several times a week. In 2009, this figure was still over 70 percent. Peter spoke of a "challenge for democracy".

Security was also a topic of the survey. The perception of security is important for well-being, said Justice and Security Director Ylfete Fanaj (SP).

As in previous surveys, around four-fifths of the population feel safe alone in their residential area at night. However, men feel much safer than women, with young women and women over 65 feeling the least safe. Overall, however, people feel slightly less safe than in previous years. This trend needs to be taken seriously, said Fanaj.

City is perceived as more dangerous

Beat Züsli (SP), the mayor of Lucerne, expressed a similar view. In the city, 75 percent feel safe in their residential area at night, 8 percentage points less than in the last survey in 2019.

The cantonal population has become more dissatisfied with tax policy. A majority are in favor of a tax cut for natural persons. The demand for higher corporate taxes has a high, albeit declining, level of approval.

SDA