Finance Committee criticizes communication by army chief Süssli
Published: Friday, Feb 16th 2024, 15:20
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The army does not have a financing problem, but a communication problem. This is the conclusion reached by the National Council's Finance Committee after a hearing with Defense Minister Viola Amherd. The head of the army in particular made "incorrect" statements.
At the end of January, Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) reported on an internal administrative document according to which the Swiss Armed Forces will lack CHF 1.4 billion by the end of 2025 to pay for armaments purchases already made. The following day, army chief Thomas Süssli put the initial situation into perspective: the army does not have a billion-franc shortfall, but a liquidity bottleneck.
This week, President Amherd spoke at length on the subject for the first time. She contradicted the head of the army on a number of points. For example, the statement that the army cannot pay bills is false.
These contradictory statements led to the Security Policy Committee of the Council of States (SIK-S) and the Finance Committee of the National Council (FK-N) dealing with the army dossier on Friday. Amherd, Süssli and other responsible representatives of the authorities were heard by the committee.
"Everything in order" in terms of financial policy
"Today, information was provided with great transparency and openness," said Commission President Sarah Wyss (SP/BS) afterwards to the media in the Federal Palace. All open questions had been clarified. The Finance Committee will not be taking any further steps.
However, it had been made "quite clear" to the DDPS that the communication surrounding the issue had been poor. "Mistakes were made", said Wyss. Defense Minister Amherd was well aware "that something like this must not happen again".
The communication shortcomings can be attributed in particular to the head of the army, Süssli, who spoke to the media several times about a liquidity bottleneck the day after the SRF investigation. The internal army document cited by SRF also referred to a liquidity bottleneck. According to Wyss, both the written and verbal statements were "incorrect".
There had been communication misunderstandings that could not have been cleared up, said Wyss. However, the situation is now clear: "There is no financial gap in the armed forces and there is no liquidity bottleneck." From a financial policy perspective, "everything is in order" and "everything is correct".
Unrest triggered
According to Amherd's statements to the Finance Committee, the army can meet all of its contractual obligations. However, because parliament has extended the increase in army finances to one percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from the initial 2030 to 2035, "planning changes" are needed, as Wyss put it. Negotiations with providers would have to be renegotiated and projects reprioritized.
"However, the DDPS has made it clear that it is within budget," said Wyss. This information from the Ministry of Defense was perceived by the Finance Commission as "transparent, credible and believable".
Whether more money should be made available to the army so that the capability gaps can be plugged is a political decision, said Wyss. The Finance Committee had not discussed this. It was up to the security policy committees to decide.
Speaking to the media, Wyss regretted that the army's poor communication had caused unrest. However, the dossier is closed for her committee for the time being.
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