Savings mandate from the Thurgau parliament puts the government in a tight spot
Published: Thursday, Nov 28th 2024, 12:30
Back to Live Feed
The Thurgau cantonal parliament has put its state apparatus in a bind. Following a budget process in which the government has already implemented drastic savings and cutback measures, it has handed the government an additional cost-cutting hammer. The canton of Thurgau is facing a reduction in services.
Thurgau's cantonal politics experienced an uproar. "The good way of working together in Thurgau is obviously over." This is what Finance Director Urs Martin (SVP) said in the Grand Council last week.
Martin's displeasure was directed at his own party and the FDP. Together they form a majority in parliament and not only refused to grant the cantonal government a requested tax increase, but instead imposed a drastic cost-cutting order on the cantonal administration.
"You are driving our canton to the wall"
Due to the canton's tight finances, the Thurgau government issued an unusual call for help ahead of the budget debate. In a letter, all 130 members of the cantonal parliament were "urgently requested" to reverse the tax rate reduction of eight percentage points agreed in 2021. This is the only way to restore budgetary balance.
But the right-wing half of parliament let the call for help go unheeded. Instead of signaling its approval of the proposed tax increase to prevent an additional CHF 54 million deficit, the SVP, the party with the most votes, with the help of the FDP and the EDU-Aufrecht parliamentary group, pushed through a motion in the first reading of the budget to cut the global budgets of all cantonal offices by two percent across the board.
The canton is expected to save a further CHF 8.2 million as a result and thus at least counteract the structural deficit. On top of this, further savings proposals amounting to around three million were announced. "You are driving our canton up the wall," the SP parliamentary group leader countered to the right-wing half of parliament.
Lean administration
It is an illusion to believe that this savings mandate can be fulfilled without a massive and noticeable reduction in administrative services, Thurgau's finance director Urs Martin told the Keystone-SDA news agency. According to the fears of the Social Democrats, this is likely to be felt above all by citizens who are already financially disadvantaged. Martin believes: "Ultimately, the bill will be paid by state employees."
This has raised eyebrows in Thurgau. In recent years, many state employees have already migrated to neighboring cantons - especially Zurich - because better salaries are paid there.
Over the past ten years, Thurgau has already scrutinized its administration with two austerity packages and eliminated a structural deficit of CHF 68 million. When the National Bank sent millions in profit distributions to Thurgau, the cantonal parliament lowered its tax rate to the lowest level in the canton's history against the will of the government and the left-wing half of the council.
Martin believes it will be very challenging to make further savings in this situation. Thurgau's administration is already one of the leanest in Switzerland. At the same time, its population is growing at an above-average rate compared to the rest of the country. Recently, for example, it became clear that the cantonal tax authority is overloaded because its staff cannot keep up with the increasing workload. For a long time, the canton also had the lowest police density in the country.
Reduction in benefits makes legislative amendments necessary
Next Wednesday, the Thurgau parliament will discuss the budget in detail and also decide on the proposed tax increase. The SVP, FDP, GLP and EDU-Aufrecht have already expressed their opposition. The tax rate is likely to remain unchanged.
In its letter, the government wrote that the net assets would probably be almost exhausted next year. The canton will probably go into debt.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic