Swiss Parliament votes to lift the new-nuclear ban (June 2026) — referendum pending, voters likely decide in 2027

Why it matters (spine). Energy is the binding constraint on the machine layer (see eia-aeo2026-datacenter-demand and cfs-pjm-interconnection): firm, zero-carbon baseload is the scarce input the whole AI build-out now competes for. A country that banned new nuclear after Fukushima reopening the door is a real policy-tailwind signal for firm clean power. But the load-bearing value of this card is the opposite of hype — it is a discipline case in freshness and superseded risk. Parliament approving a counter-proposal is not the same as a law taking effect: the measure is subject to an optional referendum, a signature drive is already live, and voters are expected to decide around 28 February 2027. The scarce, defensible thing RDKG sells is a claim with the right stage and the right date on it — "both chambers approved a repeal, referendum pending" is true; "Switzerland lifted its nuclear ban" is not yet true, and won't be until a popular vote (or the referendum failing to qualify) confirms it.

What would prove it wrong (falsifier). Parliament's official records show the counter-proposal did not in fact pass both chambers, or no valid optional-referendum drive was launched. Both fail: the National Council passed it 106-88 (5 abstentions) and the Council of States 28-14 (2 abstentions), and a left-Green referendum committee launched its signature drive on 30 June 2026 (50,000 valid signatures needed by 8 October 2026). The card's own caveat — that this is not yet a settled reversal — would instead be falsified if voters approve it (or the referendum fails to qualify) and the KEG amendment enters into force.

Live-status check + triangulation. This is a parliamentary approval of an indirect counter-proposal, NOT an enacted law, NOT a built or approved plant. The German-language primary title (Federal Council record for the measure): "Initiative «Blackout stoppen» – Bundesrat verabschiedet Botschaft zum indirekten Gegenvorschlag." The citation is set to the fedlex enacted counter-proposal text (Bundesblatt BBl 2025 2564, the KEG amendment) rather than the earlier admin.ch press release, because that press release covers the 13 August 2025 dispatch (Botschaft) stage — the government proposing to Parliament — not the June 2026 vote. Fetch caveat: WebFetch returned HTTP 403 (bot-blocking) on admin.ch, france24, srf and parlament.ch in-session, so the cited page bodies were not directly retrieved; the title and dates were confirmed via search snippets and the parallel fedlex Bundesblatt entries (BBl 2025 2563 dispatch / BBl 2025 2564 counter-proposal text). Adversarially corroborated across: swissinfo.ch ("Parliament reopens the door to nuclear power"; referendum launched 30 June 2026, 50,000 signatures by 8 October); france24.com (18 June 2026, both chambers backed the government counter-proposal, voters to decide); energynewsmagazine.at (Bern, 18 June 2026), moneycab, plattformj.ch and nau.ch for the final vote counts 106-88 and 28-14; SRF and Energie Club Schweiz for the "Blackout stoppen" initiative being conditionally withdrawn and the popular vote expected 28 February 2027; and the World Nuclear Association country profile for reactor count and the ~30% (2024) / "up to 40%" (peak) electricity share.

Correction carried forward (discipline). Six corrections were folded in against the original draft:

• The draft date "2025-08-13" is the date of the Federal Council's dispatch (Botschaft) — the cited admin.ch press release — not a parliamentary vote; both chambers' final approval was 18 June 2026 (Schlussabstimmung 20 June 2026).
• The draft implied the cited admin.ch URL supports "both chambers approved"; that URL is the August 2025 Federal Council press release announcing it had adopted the dispatch to Parliament (government proposing, not Parliament voting). The vote lives in the parliament final-vote record / fedlex enacted text (BBl 2025 2564), which is now the citation.
• The draft said "a referendum launched July 2026"; the signature drive launched 30 June 2026 (June, not July), needs 50,000 valid signatures by 8 October 2026, and the popular vote is expected around 28 February 2027.
• The draft said "~4 aging reactors supply ~40% of power"; there are exactly four reactors (Beznau 1&2, Gösgen, Leibstadt across three sites), and they supplied ~29-30% of Swiss electricity in 2024 (WNA cites "up to 40%" at peak) — so ~40% is the high end, not typical.
• Mechanism precision: the measure is an indirect counter-proposal to the popular initiative "Jederzeit Strom für alle (Blackout stoppen)," amending the Kernenergiegesetz to repeal the framework-authorization ban; the initiative was conditionally withdrawn after Parliament passed the counter-proposal.
• Final vote counts (official record via multiple German-language outlets): National Council 106-88 (5 abstentions), Council of States 28-14 (2 abstentions).