Defence Minister Martin Pfister.
Keystone-SDA
The priorities set by the government for the modernisation of the Swiss Armed Forces have been well received by parliament. Following the Senate, the House of Representatives has also approved the Armed Forces Message without amendment – including the supplementary credit for the procurement of F-35 fighter jets.
In total, the government requested commitment credits of around CHF3.4 billion for the armed forces from parliament. It has earmarked around CHF2.4 billion for defence procurement, CHF562 million for property projects and CHF394 million as a supplementary credit for the procurement of F-35 fighter jets.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved the aforementioned credits. Contrary to the proposal of its Security Policy Committee, it decided against a CHF500 million increase for air defence munitions. This decision was passed by 104 votes to 91, with one abstention. The Social Democratic Party, Centre Party, Green Party and Liberal Green Party voted against the additional CHF500 million.
No majority for a ‘rushed exercise’
These funds were to be used for ammunition for ground-based air defence systems of long and medium range, as well as for systems providing indirect fire support at medium range. This was intended to enhance the army’s sustainability.
For the Swiss People’s Party and the Radical-Liberal Party, it would have been imperative to replenish ammunition reserves as quickly as possible. The defeated majority on the committee argued that, due to high demand, ammunition procurement was taking ever longer and costing ever more.
The centre-left warned that the funding for these additional resources was unclear. Linda De Ventura from the Social Democrats warned against a “rush job”.
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Additional F-35 credit despite ‘fixed-price fiasco’
All other motions for increases and cuts were also rejected in the House of Representatives. Consequently, following approval by both chambers of parliament, the credits are now a done deal.
A particular point of contention in the debate was the CHF394 million supplementary credit requested by the government for the procurement of F-35 fighter jets. A majority in the House of Representatives wished to proceed with this, even though the parliamentary oversight body had established last week that the fixed price for the purchase of the fighter jets – which had been repeatedly communicated – had never actually existed.
Spokespersons for the centre-right parliamentary groups emphasised that there was no alternative to the F-35 procurement. The left criticised the fact that the report by the House of Representatives’ Committee on the Examination of Public Accounts had undermined confidence in the procurement process. There was repeated talk of a “fixed-price fiasco”.
Eroded trust
Defence Minister Martin Pfister commented on the report for the first time during the debate. The government would issue a statement on the matter “very soon, and not just in December”. He described the report as “nuanced, objective and interesting”. It formed a “good basis for improvements to processes within the defence ministry”.
At the same time, Pfister noted that the criticism contained in the report placed a “heavy strain on the work of the defence ministry and its staff to build trust”. He appealed to the committee members to conduct the discussion on the report in an objective manner. “I sometimes find that lacking.” For Switzerland’s security, it is important to procure the maximum possible number of new fighter jets, he said.
Pfister has now been given the go-ahead to do so. The army can press ahead with the forthcoming air defence procurements. Further funding requests will be on the agenda during the winter session. Owing to the improved outlook for the federal budget, the government is requesting an additional CHF1 billion or so. Once this has been approved, the government will be able to make the down payments for the new procurements.
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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
