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The need for action is great. Most parties and cantonal authorities agree on this. If nothing is done, civil protection will be without personnel in a few years. Ten years ago, the target was set at 72,000 civil defense officers, in 2021 there will be 68,000.
The problems are comparable to those of the army: fewer and fewer Swiss are serving there. More and more are running away – for medical reasons or because they are going to do community service. The Federal Council warns there could be as few as 51,000 civil defense officers by 2030. If no more staff are recruited, there is a risk that performance will decline in the medium term.
Civil protection should be a priority in the future
To prevent this, the Federal Council wants to deploy more personnel for civil protection. For example, anyone who has to do military service but has not yet completed recruiting school by the age of 25 and is discharged from the army should return to protection duty. The same applies to military personnel who are no longer in military service. Or for people who perform community service. They should be able to be required to do part of their compulsory military service in underpaid civil defense organizations. In the event of an emergency, civil protection should be given priority in the future.
The majority of the planned legislative changes are well received by the conservative parties. They are welcomed by SVP, FDP or Green Liberals. This is evident from the recently concluded public consultation. “In order to comprehensively protect the population in emergency situations, the existence of civil protection must also be guaranteed in the future,” emphasizes the GLP, for example.
At the same time, however, citizens are making it clear: the measures can only be an intermediate step. The Bundesrat has been studying a new conscription model for some time now – also for women. And in parliament there has already been a plea for a rapid merger of the civil service and civil protection.
Daycare centers, hospitals and homes fear for their citizens
The left wants nothing to do with anything. The laws have already been turned inside out anyway – to reduce civil defense oversupply. The SP does not believe in the understocks. And if there are such cases, the civil defense itself should take a look. Civil service affairs can only work efficiently if they remain a purely federal task.
There is also great resistance from organizations and associations that depend on people who perform community service. “Due to such secondments of civilian conscripts, victims would no longer be sufficiently available in the future,” criticizes the sector association of the elderly and care institution Curaviva.
It sounds similar from the Kibesuisse Childcare Association Switzerland: “With the obligation of people doing community service to do civil protection, valuable days of service in the field of government service are being lost – particularly in health, social and school systems as well as in the field of environmental protection and nature conservation.” There are even rumors of a referendum.
Just an intermediate step for cantons
Despite all fears: a clear majority of the cantons also want to strengthen civil protection again. After all, “the number and intensity of threats to the population will not decrease in the future,” emphasizes the Solothurn government. The great usefulness of civil protection became clear once again in the course of the Covid pandemic. The revision can improve existing problems in the short and medium term.
At the same time, however, the cantons make it clear that the proposed revision is not the icing on the cake for them. It gives the impression that existing challenges in compulsory services should not be solved, but should only be approached with caution, notes the Bernese government, for example. The proposal can therefore only be seen as an immediate measure. Many cantons see it that way. For the government of St. Gallen, the current bill can only be an intermediate step.
The responsible Minister of Defense, Viola Amherd (60), also knows this. Their DDPS is exploring two different mandatory service models by the end of the year to help bring long-term inventory issues under control. That won’t be easy either.
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.
