The government has revealed its savings ideas for the 2024 budget, including a smaller than planned boost in military spending.
The government has revealed its savings ideas for the 2024 budget, including a smaller than planned boost in military spending.
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The pre-budget plans announced on Wednesday come as a response to some CHF2 billion ($2.18 billion) in new spending decided by parliament, and which the government is worried could create a deficit in state coffers.
One such spending spree decided last summer by parliamentarians was a progressive boost in annual military spending, from CHF5.6 billion to CHF7 billion by 2030.
Coming after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this decision aimed to raise the army budget gradually to reach at least 1% of Swiss gross domestic product.
The government now wants to cut the planned expansion by CHF300 million in 2024, CHF500 million in 2025, and up to CHF800 million in 2026. For ministers, this still represents an increase of some 3% annually compared to current spending.
__More debates to come__
People’s Party politician Werner Salzmann told SRF public radio on Thursday that the government’s decision followed the “path of least resistance and did not in any way take into account parliament’s decision”.
Salzmann, who oversees the security policy commission in the Senate, said the decision would delay the army’s modernisation plans, and that it’s procurement plans for the next years would all have to be reevaluated. He said the government should make cuts elsewhere.
The government will present further details of the budget in February and March this year; parliament yet has the last word on approving it.
I had to laugh at the comment about least resistance and parliament’s decision.
What does the first part even mean and as to the second, parliament can decide a lot, but where is the money going to come from?
There is something uniquely “political talk” about saving money by decreasing an increase of spending.
> including a smaller than planned boost in military spending.
Ah…so our boys are only going to run on 3-tank squadrons, fly 1 single fighter plane and eat rice and sausage 4 times a week instead of 2. Great.
Glad im out of the service i guess, it was already bad enough at times before.
The military is such a joke and a drain for tax money. I’ve seen many unnecessary spendings during my time in service (Miliz) but god damn those people at Rümlang (Camp Haselbach) take the cake. A Hptadj was literally building his personal museum in the cellar and just waited for his retirement. His biggest problem of the week was a soldier putting French Fries instead of Pommes Frittes on the menu…
yes you read that right, they had a fucking menu.
Send some of our Leopard tanks (that are rotting away in storage) to Ukraine. Save us some maintenance costs and earn some goodwill on the international scene.