As soon as Parliament has passed increases, the Federal Council cuts back
Hust and Hott on the army budget
The Federal Council could put a spanner in the works for the army. After parliament significantly increased the military budget last year, the government wants to cut a large part again for reasons of economy.
Published: 10:30 am
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Updated: 9:16 p.m
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By 2030, the army budget should increase to well over seven billion francs. To the delight of Federal Councilor Viola Amherd.
Daniel BallmerEditor Politics
The big windfall came unexpectedly for the Swiss army. Alarmed by the war in Ukraine, last spring parliament decided to increase the budget step by step until 2030. Opponents warned against a blank check because it took the military months to show how the additional funds would be used in the first place.
But how won, so lost. The outgoing SVP Finance Minister Ueli Maurer (72) had already warned of billions in deficits from 2024. Now the Federal Council, led by Maurer’s successor Karin Keller-Sutter (59), is getting serious: In order to achieve a balanced estimate for 2024, it decided on various measures on Wednesday.
By 2026, the Federal Council wants to save 1.6 billion in the army
The military should also lose its feathers. Army spending is expected to grow at a much slower pace in the coming years than Parliament has envisaged. For the coming year, the Federal Council is planning an army budget of a good CHF 5.6 billion. Means: The expansion is to be reduced by 300 million francs in 2023. In the following year it would be 500 million and in 2026 even 800 million less than planned in the financial plan.
The Federal Council is convinced that this is still enough. Real growth continues to be three percent a year, he emphasizes. This is more than double the current growth. Important procurement-ready projects could be financed with it.
“Waste of tax money”
In the left-green camp, the savings plans are noted with satisfaction. The bourgeois parties and the defense department (DDPS) of Viola Amherd (60) could even be happy, teases SP co-president Cédric Wermuth (36) on Twitter. If you couldn’t advance the budget, it would come out that “to this day nobody knows what to do with the money at all. A total waste of tax money.”
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The SVP Council of States Werner Salzmann (60) sees things differently. The President of the Security Policy Commission is annoyed that the Federal Council, with its austerity plans, is not taking Parliament’s will into account at all.
The army must do waiver planning again
After all, his commission discussed a plan with the army as to when and by 2030 which purchases should be made for the army. Salzmann says on SRF radio: “The army must therefore make a waiver plan and distribute all the purchases by 2035.” Consequence: The ability to defend is only achieved later.
But it is also clear that the cuts in the army expansion planned by the Federal Council still have to be approved by the National Council and the Council of States as part of the overall budget. Parliament has the last word again.