No austerity programme: Switzerland continues to let embassy parties run wild

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The Federal Foreign Office (EDA) needs to save money. The federal government decided in February that each ministry must reduce its budget by two percent this year. This also applies to the EDA, where the maintenance of an external network with 166 branches worldwide costs 495 million francs a year.

Two percent of this means a savings target of 10 million francs. “NZZ am Sonntag” has already reported plans to close embassies. Are there savings potential elsewhere?

Maybe at embassy parties. We remember the criticism made about 20 years ago against the then Swiss ambassador to Germany, Thomas Borer (66). At that time he was throwing expensive parties in Berlin.

A mega party with a clear goal

It is clear that the largest such event in Switzerland’s external diplomatic network today is the “Soirée Suisse” in Washington DC. On September 13, this social evening for the elite will be held for the 22nd time and for the 17th time at the stylish Swiss embassy north of the US capital.

Between 1,100 and 1,500 guests are expected: members of the U.S. government, the U.S. Congress, state officials, and high-level representatives from business, science, and culture from the United States and Switzerland.

What does this cost? According to a contract tender in Blick’s possession, the embassy will pay the local caterer exactly $1,364,525, excluding VAT, for the party. However, this amount refers to the next five years. This year’s party will raise $272,905. For 1,300 guests, this works out to just over 200 francs per guest. This is not an exaggeration, even if the workload of embassy staff is not taken into account.

Basic networking

Giving up on “Soirée Suisse” is no problem anyway. Such evenings are part of the embassy’s “core business,” according to EDA spokesman Michael Steiner. Many Swiss embassies, especially the larger ones, have decided on the Soirée Suisse format “in order to maintain communication networks and present Switzerland’s strengths in important areas to their relevant target audience.” Protecting Switzerland’s interests, especially in the United States, is more important than ever. Among other things, due to allegations against Switzerland in connection with the Ukrainian conflict, the “Helsinki Commission” was created, a parliamentary commission of the US Congress on security and cooperation in Europe.

According to Steiner, the embassy in Washington will not incur any additional costs as a result of the event. “Soirée Suisse is 80 percent funded by sponsorship money and 20 percent by Swiss marketer Presence Switzerland.” The costs stated in the budget amount to only a few tens of thousands of francs. According to the EDA, operating expenses of the Swiss Embassy in Washington amounted to 9.2 million francs in 2022.

The party’s sponsors are large Swiss companies with business interests in the United States. The party serves them in maintaining economic links. There are clear rules about who can sponsor. The rules were introduced four years ago when the EDA came under fire because cigarette maker Philip Morris was scheduled to co-sponsor the Swiss pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020. But party sponsorship has been around much longer. Borer also financed many of the parties this way, which eased the burden on taxpayers.

Each representative decides for himself

The savings potential lies elsewhere. Steiner notes that, as part of the austerity measures adopted, each embassy carries out budget assessments to achieve the set goals: “The decision to abandon certain activities or narrow their scope lies with each representation, depending on their priorities, analysis of resources and influence.”

In principle, every representative office, including the consulate general, has the opportunity to organize such “public diplomacy” events. However, according to FDFA, there is currently no other agency organizing an event on the scale of Soirée Suisse.

New buildings probably have the most savings potential. The cost of the ambassador’s residence in Washington, completed in 2006, was a very high figure of 23 million francs. The one currently under construction in Beijing is expected to cost around $50 million.

Source :Blick