Despite the fact that the army is on the ground, the army should not receive more money: the National Council is not impressed by the collapse of the tanks

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The majority in the National Council is not impressed. On Sunday, it was announced that the Army would have to ground the entire fleet of its M113 armored cars – immediately! A technical defect can lead to problems with steering and braking. A danger to troops and third parties.

“The military has been ruined for decades. Now the consequences are becoming increasingly clear,” complain the officer companies of the artillery and armored troops. ‘And that’s just the beginning. Many systems have been overused for years,” said Erich Muff, president of the Panzer Officers’ Society.

The money has disappeared everywhere. Politicians must finally recognize the seriousness of the situation. Parliament must implement the desired increase in the military budget by 2030, as originally planned.

“That is unrealistic and wrong!”

However, the majority in the National Council seemed unimpressed on Monday. She was unable to reach an agreement with the Council of States. Last week he stuck to the more ambitious variant: the army budget must be increased to 1 percent of GDP in 2030, from 5.5 to 9.5 billion francs per year. The National Council, on the other hand, follows the Federal Council and wants to extend the deadline until 2035.

However, the vote was relatively close. The National Council only rejected the higher option with 102 votes in favor, 92 votes in favor and one abstention. The SVP and FDP in particular voted for more money for the army.

This did not go down well with the other factions. “Such an increase would drastically limit the scope of Parliament’s financial policy,” warned Markus Ritter, 56, the Center’s national councilor. Compliance with the debt brake would still be a long way off.

Financial politician Martin Bäumle (59) from GLP accused the SVP of acting “financially irresponsible”. “Everyone should save even more. This is unrealistic and wrong!”

Keller-Sutter warns of a higher army budget

FDP Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (59) sees it the same way. There is already a risk of deficits of two to three billion in the financial plan for the coming years. If the army budget were to be increased again, another 243 million francs would be added. It is unclear whether this is even possible, Keller-Sutter explains. “I just have to say this openly.”

Otherwise, the military’s billions would have to be saved somewhere. The Minister of Finance made it clear that the army can also count on significantly more money with the lower financial plan. “Even at 1 percent of GDP by 2035, we will have practically doubled military spending.” The budget now goes back to the Council of States. The battle continues.

Source:Blick