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Chaos has broken out! It concerns controversial tank deliveries abroad. There is fighting over Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 tanks. Which ones are now in Eastern Switzerland? And which one in Italy? Which ones need to be delivered – and which ones don’t? And what is the federal arms company Ruag, which has not escaped criticism, actually about? Blick provides orientation in the chaos of tanks.
Which tanks are we talking about? Leopard 1 or 2?
Both are discussed. The Leopard 1 is the older model. 96 Leopard 1 tanks are unused in Italy and belong to Ruag. The Swiss army also mothballed 96 of the more modern “Leo 2” in eastern Switzerland.
What about these tanks?
Ruag is causing irritation with his Leopard 1 tanks. The company bought it from Italy’s Agenzia Italiana Difesa (Aid) in 2016. Total price: 4.5 million euros, including a large amount of spare parts.
Since then, 96 tanks have sat unused in the open in Villesse, northern Italy. With the war in Ukraine, interest in this increased enormously. In January, the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall received a request for this. The defense company wanted to buy the tanks, overhaul them and then send them to Ukraine. The Netherlands wanted to finance the deal to support the war-torn country. But the Federal Council stopped the deal.
Why did the arms deal make such headlines?
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, half of Europe has been putting pressure on Switzerland. It is expected that our country will participate in military aid to Ukraine – or at least will not hinder it. However, due to the recently strengthened War Materials Act, the Federal Council has rejected several requests to transfer Swiss-made weapons. The transfer of tanks is also controversial in terms of neutrality policy.
There was great hope abroad for the Leopard 1 deal. The Ruag would also have fueled this hope. A preliminary contract had already been signed, although the federal government had not approved the transfer, which the company was later accused of in parliament. Hopes were dashed, leading to diplomatic tensions.
How did foreign countries react to the decision?
The Federal Council’s Njet caused red heads. “To be honest, I was very disappointed and I find it difficult to understand,” said outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (56) angrily. And it didn’t stop there. The Dutch parliament has decided not to buy Swiss weapons and ammunition at all in the future.
Germany also took action. The fact that Bern cannot be used as an armament partner in times of war, as Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (54) complained, has consequences: Berlin is once again producing its own ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tank. They no longer want to be dependent on Switzerland. Swiss politicians are already concerned about the local arms industry.
But why is the failed deal still in the news?
After the Federal Council stopped activities, more and more irregularities became known. It was initially controversial why Ruag pushed for the deal even though the official rejection was foreseeable. It subsequently emerged that the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) had issued positive signals in an initial informal investigation. Only a more thorough preliminary investigation turned out to be negative. As a result, the official application did not go through.
And why has federal councilor Viola Amherd also been criticized?
To this day, it is still controversial when Defense Minister Viola Amherd (61), who is responsible for Ruag in the Federal Council, knew about the planned Leopard 1 deal – and whether she informed her colleagues in the Federal Council informed in time or not.
At the same time, Ruag’s board of directors noted further discrepancies at the end of August. Ruag’s leadership admits that not all connections are completely understandable. Another indication of the clearly chaotic conditions at the federal weapons factory.
What other “inconsistencies” were discovered?
Only at the end of August did it become known that not all 96 Leopard 1 tanks in Italy may actually be owned by Ruag. Due to the split of the group, the overview seems to have been completely lost. The fact is: the German Global Logistics Support GmbH is now claiming 25 tanks, which it says it purchased in 2019. But Ruag can’t even say that with certainty. She only speaks of ‘a potential claim to ownership’. The situation is under legal investigation.
And that’s not all. It is now clear that, along with other suspects, a former Ruag manager is also being targeted by the public prosecutor’s office in Verden, Germany: Not everything would have been done correctly in the tank deal. The subject of the investigation is irregularities in connection with the trade in spare parts for military equipment. There are suspicions of disloyalty, bribery and corruption in business transactions. It is the presumption of innocence.
That is it?
No, last but not least, Italy will probably also get involved. The reason: Ruag never received the necessary Italian approval for the planned sale and export of the 96 main battle tanks. The non-governmental organization Opal, which specializes in security policy, came to this conclusion after evaluating official Italian government documents, it is said. Now the Italian parliament must clarify the matter.
Did Ruag CEO Brigitte Beck have to take off her hat because of all this?
At least not officially. Yet the pressure on her became so great that she left the company at the beginning of August after only a year in office. Beck came under fire for two public appearances and the resulting controversy over arms transactions.
Beck had criticized the Federal Council for its blockade on the issue of possible tank deliveries to Ukraine and advised countries receiving Swiss war materials to ignore Switzerland’s neutrality policy if necessary. Ruag’s board of directors then saw only the possibility of a change in leadership.
However, to this day, it is still controversial whether Beck’s actions were in the spirit of federal councilor Amherd. And whether she simply dropped Beck to save her own skin. The Ministry of Defense wants nothing to do with it.
How is the federal government responding to all of this? After all, he is the sole owner.
Not only federal councilor Amherd has ordered a “comprehensive external investigation”, Ruag’s leadership has also announced one. The federal government also wants to investigate how the board of directors fulfills its supervisory task.
Amherd’s confidence in Ruag’s leadership appears to have been violated. They now have questions about Ruag’s future cooperation with the federal government as owner. She does not raise her hand for further problems with Ruag’s legacy. However, Amherd actually has overall supervision of the group.
How does Parliament respond to all this?
Above all, it looks at these trials and tribulations in disbelief. The responsible committees welcomed the announced investigations. They must finally provide clarity. There have now also been calls for a member of the Federal Council to return to Ruag’s board of directors. This makes it easier to check whether the group strategy is in line with the political objectives of the state government.
What happens now to the Leopard 1 tanks in Italy?
So far, Ruag has no plan B. No business activities are planned. The hope that Germany would still want to take over the tanks for its own reserves has been dashed. She only wanted Berlin for Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense told Blick that the Leopard 1 was not necessary.
And what about the “Leo 2”?
The more modern tank variant, the Leopard 2, is in the inventory of the Swiss Army. Here too there are 96 pieces. They sit unused in a hall in eastern Switzerland. Because our army can do without 25 of them, they have to be sold back to the German manufacturer Rheinmetall. And the rest will be used again by the army.
The 25 ‘Leos’ are intended to fill gaps in the supplies of NATO countries that have in turn supplied tanks to Ukraine. Since the Swiss tanks themselves are not intended to enter the war zone, the deal would likely be compatible with the neutrality law. The Federal Council and the National Council have already given the green light. The Council of States will probably also reach agreement on this in the autumn session. This would pave the way for Switzerland to still supply tanks.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
