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Preparations for the Valais coronation fair are in full swing. The Valais government wants to celebrate its Federal President Viola Amherd (61) on December 21. The financially strapped canton cost the party 350,000 francs. The celebration begins in St-Maurice – from here the Foreign Legion of St. Mauritius once Christianized Switzerland. Later we take a special train to Amherd’s homeland, Upper Valais. The uncrowned Sun Queen enjoys excellent opinion polls – she is by far the most popular federal councilor. Scandals roll off her shoulders and the Minister of Defense cheerfully laughs off the accusations.
The centrist politician presents herself as down-to-earth and unpretentious. But appearances can be deceiving: things are simmering behind the scenes. Amherd has created many opponents with its Teflon strategy.
A top Swiss soldier speaks of a lack of appreciation: “The federal councilor only wanted to see me twice in the past four years,” the member of the top army command told SonntagsBlick. Amherd enjoys little support in parts of the army. She is a Minister of Defense without an armada and is fighting on many fronts.
1
The Slump State Secretariat Sepos
The project for a State Secretariat for Security Policy (Sepos) was an ill-fated project from the start. Many people wonder: why does the federal government need a sixth state secretariat? Amherd bases its prestige project on the geopolitical situation (Russia/Ukraine, Gaza, China, 110 armed conflicts worldwide) – and the challenges that cyber wars entail. Particularly embarrassing for Amherd: the Sepos should start working on January 1, but the federal councilor is still not in the mood for it. Her first choice, the Turkish ambassador Jean-Daniel Ruch (60), had to cancel due to the risk of blackmail. Amherd managed to keep the bad news secret until the federal elections – and only informed the Federal Council after October 22. Amherd’s second choice, the diplomat Thomas Greminger (62), encountered a ‘pantscherl’ – that’s what they call a love affair in Austria. When Greminger moved from the OSCE in Vienna to Geneva, he is said to have given his Russian lover a scholarship there and later promoted her. Pälvi Pulli (52), head of security policy at the DDPS, is also not eligible for the position “for interpersonal reasons”, it is said internally.
The top position will be filled “in the coming weeks”, Amherd announced in early December. However, the department head appeared at the Federal Council meeting on Friday without a new candidate. The clock is ticking…
It is already clear: Amherd received nothing but rejections from the front row. Neither the Swiss ambassador in Brussels, Rita Adam (54), nor her Parisian colleague Roberto Balzaretti (58) want to become State Secretary. The director of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich, Alexander Wenger (59), is also not interested in the 310,000 francs job. The names of the Swiss ambassador in Washington, Jacques Pitteloud (61), and his colleague at NATO in Brussels, Philippe Brandt (59), are also being circulated. “This is speculation,” says the DDPS.
The chairman of the Security Policy Committee (SiK) in the National Council, Mauro Tuena (SVP, 51), has had enough. The top security politician calls on the federal councilor to stop the exercise. “Mrs Amherd must show greatness and abolish the State Secretariat for Security Policy,” Tuena told SonntagsBlick: “Switzerland’s security is guaranteed even without a State Secretariat.”
However, the head of the commission has no choice but to appeal to Amherd – the creation of a state secretariat is the responsibility of the Federal Council. As SonntagsBlick knows, the idea of writing to the magistrate to stop the exercise was already circulating in the SiK. However, the objection came from the left that she should be given another chance.
It would theoretically be possible for another member of the government to return the project to the author for clarification, but this is considered taboo. The decision remains in Amherd’s hands. Your department has announced that the Sepos will begin its work on January 1 “as planned”. The name of the State Secretary will be announced in the coming weeks.
However, the VBS boss will probably have to answer to the safety policy committee. Tuena: “We want to see the structures of this state secretariat, which are not yet known.”
2
Corruption scandal at Ruag
Even after Amherd came to power, the state arms company Ruag did not calm down. 96 Leopard 1 tanks still rust in a scrap yard in northern Italy. The Netherlands wanted to buy the tanks from Ruag, refurbish them and make them available to Ukraine. But the Federal Council rejected this, citing Swiss neutrality. Why Ruag initially let his foreign partners believe the deal could work is now the subject of two investigations. In addition, the German Public Prosecution Service for corruption is investigating a former manager of Wallis Ruag. In any case, the Ruag file will become a burden for Amherd’s immediate environment. Because the chairman of the Ruag board of directors, Nicolas Perrin (64), is the brother-in-law of Amherd’s closest confidante Brigitte Hauser-Süess (69). Reports from the external law firm Niederer Kraft Frey and the Federal Audit Office were supposed to be available by the end of the year, but the investigations have been delayed.
3
The Swiss NATO pendulum course
Viola Amherd makes no secret of her desire to bring Switzerland closer to NATO. This is the logical consequence of Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine. NATO partners praise the department head for this. “It is in Switzerland’s interest to support Ukraine and NATO,” Danish Ambassador Susanne Hyldelund (55) recently told Blick. On Tuesday, after a meeting with NATO Admiral Rob Bauer (61), Amherd wrote on X: “We are determined to expand our security policy with NATO and the EU.” While the SVP sees Amherd’s NATO coddling course as an attack on neutrality, the attacked SVP quotes federal councilor Adolf Ogi (81): He urged Switzerland in 1996 to join the NATO Partnership for Peace . A move about which the New York Times wrote at the time: “Adolf Ogi is pushing ahead with a plan that just a few years ago would have been political suicide in a country where neutrality is considered sacred scripture.”
Amherd is convinced that its policy is completely in the spirit of Ogi. Switzerland will participate in armed NATO maneuvers in the future. According to the VBS, no such exercise is currently planned. But Amherd’s security policy adviser, Pälvi Pulli, announced months ago that Switzerland would participate in the entire spectrum of NATO exercises. This also applies to the scenario of a war of aggression against NATO – more than unusual for the Swiss army.
4
Federal Office for Cybersecurity
In the new year, the National Center for Cybersecurity (NCSC) will become the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (Bacs). Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (59) was previously responsible for this; in the future the Bacs will be subordinate to the military department. But many cyber specialists want nothing to do with the army and its security concept, and a rain of layoffs follows. There are now 10 of the 48, reports SRF. The NCSC reassures Blick: “A transformation always entails opportunities and risks.” The NCSC has now filled five vacancies; further recruitments are in preparation.
5
Federal Intelligence Service (NDB)
The Federal Intelligence Service (NDB) has long been regarded as a problem within the federal government: too cumbersome, too inefficient and not proactive enough. For example, the NDB was a grateful target for the Valais cult series ‘Tschugger’, in which a hacker can easily break into the secret service. While other countries quickly made a public assessment of the situation after the Hamas terrorist attack, nothing happened in the NDB. The Swiss secret agents are mainly concerned with themselves. The management is currently struggling with a reorganization; With the exception of director Christian Dussey (58), all members of the management team must reapply for their positions. This causes anxiety and resentment. The NDB announced that the composition of the new management should be completed by the end of March 2024.
6
F-35 fighter jets
Viola Amherd was initially well received in military circles: she had won the referendum on the purchase of F-35 fighter jets. It is now clear: the purchase will be more expensive than expected. The quality of the fighter jets also leaves much to be desired: the American Court of Audit found almost 800 defects in the F-35s of the American army. And this week it was revealed that the machines will not only be more expensive than expected, but will also be louder – much to the chagrin of affected communities.
7
The progress of women
To make a career under Amherd you have to be a woman or Valais and at least have the CVP stable smell, army members complain. But Amherd’s promotion of women has been a long time coming. In ten years she wanted to increase the share of women in the army to ten percent; currently it is stagnant at one percent. “Amherd’s plan is too ambitious,” says an insider. After all, the VBS boss can boast that the share of women in foreign missions is disproportionately high, for example in Kosovo. And yet some parliamentarians do not like that Amherd has dropped her security policy advisor Pälvi Pulli, Amherd’s favorite for the position of secretary of state. Pulli achieved excellent results in an assessment, but her leadership qualities were less convincing. In the Bundeshaus it is said that Amherd is bowing to the SVP because Pulli is flirting with NATO and is therefore a red flag for the SVP. “Men are necessarily given leadership experience, while Ms. Pulli is denied it. Mrs Amherd must stand up for Mrs Pulli,” parliamentarians criticize.
Given the many major construction projects in the VBS, it is unclear how Amherd will fare in the elections as federal president: in the SVP people are dissatisfied with NATO’s course, while on the left they are bothered by the high expenditure on the army. The only consolation for the Valais woman is that she will probably do better than her predecessor Alain Berset – last year the Freiburger achieved the worst result in years with 140 votes. Nothing stands in the way of Viola Amherd’s coronation mass.
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.
