Hole in army finances: Has Amherd left its army out in the cold?

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The military is currently battling a powerful enemy: its own finances. In the coming years, money will be so tight that the military will have to beg defense companies to delay payments. Popular public events are canceled for cost-saving reasons. The financial problems are so serious that the army will soon be on the verge of collapse, according to army chief Thomas Süssli (57).

The reason for the military misery: the army approved far more expenditure than the budget allowed. Due to the ailing federal budget, Parliament put on the brakes at the end of 2022 and decided not to increase the budget to 1 percent of gross domestic product in 2030 as originally planned, but only in 2035. In the coming years, the military will be confronted with a billion dollar gap. This year alone the army will lose 800 million francs.

Amherd apparently agreed

Defense Minister Viola Amherd (61) has so far remained silent on this subject. “The army has been destroyed for thirty years,” was the only statement she made. However, internal documents available to Blick and first reported by “Tages-Anzeiger” now show that the federal councilor clearly did not fight for faster growth of military spending in the Federal Council.

At the beginning of 2023, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (60) requested approval from the various departments for a budget concept, for which she found broad support. According to documents, Keller-Sutter emphasized that Amherd’s Department of Defense (VBS) agreed with the proposed reduction in military spending in 2024.

A discussion paper explicitly states: “The FDF, in consultation with the DDPS, requests that army expenditure in the 2024 estimate be reduced by 286 million compared to the current planning.” The document also states which projects and areas within the departments will need a particularly large amount of money in the coming years.

Stunned politicians

The DDPS makes no mention of the maintenance of ground troops or the renewal of completely outdated systems, as Süssli complains. The keywords civil protection, cyber security and the Federal Office for Topography Swisstopo are explicitly mentioned. The VBS has promised answers to Blick’s questions before Friday.

Wherever you turn to the security and financial politicians in Bern, there is great uncertainty and uncertainty about the origins and consequences of the hole in the army coffers: ‘I cannot imagine that Amherd simply accepted the cuts in army expenditure. says Landraad Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (59) to Blick.

SVP National Councilor Mauro Tuena (52) becomes clearer: “It is clear from the documents that Defense Minister Viola Amherd left her army and thus her defense capabilities out in the cold when the decision was made in the Federal Council. And that shocks me,” says the security politician.

But left and right politicians in the Bundestag agree: There are many inconsistencies in the narrative about the military’s capability gap that has emerged. The responsible federal councilor will be asked questions at the next meeting of the Security Policy Committee on January 21.

Source:Blick