Proportional to the respective populations, this would have needed roughly four times as many signatures to get to that level in Switzerland.

the Swiss can only propose new constitutional amendments, not statutory laws. And precisely to avoid having what is supposed to be a technical decision into an overly broad popular vote, because those are still supposed to belong into parliamentary debate.

Because if people voted on every single regulation you'd be at the ballot box five times a day.

So, mob rule?