Even the expansion of the army was in danger: with this Buebetrickli, the SVP wanted to close the tank deal

Choice between plague and cholera

To add a last-minute twist, the SVP played with putting everything on one card. At her parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, she discussed the downing of the entire army embassy – and with it the significant increase in the military budget.

With the deployment of the army, the Bundesrat is submitting commitment appropriations totaling CHF 1.9 billion to parliament. They cover four areas: the armaments program, the procurement of army equipment, the real estate program DDPS and the payment framework, which is to be increased by 600 million by 2024 to a total of 21.7 billion francs.

After the outbreak of war in Ukraine, parliament demanded even higher spending on the military – especially the SVP. The budget must increase to at least one percent of gross domestic product by 2030. However, for reasons of savings, the Bundesrat wants to give 300 to 800 million francs less annually.

Unholy Alliance to trip

However, parliament has the last word. This is exactly where the SVP studies a «Buebetrickli». The increase in the army budget is also heavily contested in the left-green. An unholy alliance, therefore, could bring down the payments framework — and, with it, the military’s expansion plans.

But: The SVP has also stated that with the rejection of only one part of the army message, the remaining three areas will be accepted anyway. So the Panzer deal can’t be avoided at all.

Large parts of the SVP faction have already resigned. The parliamentary group is likely to simply abstain from voting on the tank deal, it is said, “as a sign of protest”. The Bundesrat and the other parties will be able to live with it. (dba)