Thosenew DDPS chief –Martin Pfister wants to “act quickly for defense”
The Minister of Defense spoke for the first time on the priorities he intends to fix. In particular, he deplored the time that weapon purchases take.
Posted today at 4:57 p.m.
Martin Pfister chose not to wait for the traditional hundred first days to express themselves.
KEYSTONE
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- Federal advisor Martin Pfister has chosen to break the usual one -day silence period.
- The DDPS chief stressed that the United States “reorients” its security policy.
- Switzerland should consider as a chance that Europe wants to defend itself more independently.
- Like her predecessor, Viola Amherd, the centrist considers cross -border cooperation as a response to increasing threats.
A newly elected federal advisor usually keeps silence for a hundred days, time to take marks. Not Martin Pfister. Elected last Marchthe successor of Viola Amherd, who spoke in Bern on Wednesday evening, first said that he was still familiar with the matter of the Federal Department of Defense, Protection of Population and Sports (DDPS). But, said Zugois, “the main fields of action are already clearly identifiable today”, before adding: “Europe security, and therefore that of Switzerland, has never been so threatened for decades.”
The new Minister of Defense, who also participated this week in the traditional feast of Sechseläuten In Zurich, was expressed as part of an event organized in Bern by The Swiss Security Alliance. This influential right -wing lobby, founded in 2021 and chaired by the president of PLR Thierry Burkart, defends the security policy. And precisely, “in matters of security policy, we do not have much time to silence ourselves,” said Federal Advisor Zugois to justify his early speech.
The chief of the DDPS joked that the Swiss security alliance was the first organization, apart from his own party, to invite him in his capacity as federal advisor, shortly after the announcement of his candidacy, when he did not believe in his election. “In a way, you have been the births of my self-confidence,” he told the national hotel, including army representatives and politicians.
The Trump administration “fundamentally calls into question the order based on rules”
If the Russian aggression against Ukraine has destroyed “the illusion” of lasting peace in Europe, fundamentally modifying European security architecture, the role of NATO, like that of the American armed forces, is also modified, supported Martin Pfister. Entrying the new US administration around Donald Trump has “further accelerated upheavals in international relations”, “fundamentally questioning the order based on rules and relations between Europe and the United States”.
Reorientation by the United States not only of its economic policy, but also of its foreign policy and its security policy “shakes current certainties on the way of dealing with partners, alliances and adversaries”, according to the Federal Council. Europe has therefore reached the conclusion that it had to defend itself more autonomously, better protect the rule of law and democracy. “We can see it as a chance, and we have to see it as a chance,” insisted Martin Pfister.
The fact that Europe must now assume its own safety more has important consequences for Switzerland, called upon to “provide substantial contributions to its own security” and to “contribute to the stability of the European continent”, continued the federal adviser. Due to its neutrality policy, Switzerland is “somewhat limited” in the means it uses and must seek its own paths. For the DDPS chief, it is clear that it must “act quickly and with determination” in order to regain its defense capacity.
The chief of the DDPS also suggested that the acquisition of armaments in Switzerland took a long time, of which “we do not really have”. However, he did not specify if, and in which case how, he would like to accelerate the process.
“Our answers must be as cross -border as threats”
On Wednesday evening, the new federal adviser also stressed that challenges went far beyond military security, “hybrid attacks”-probably cyber attacks-already touching Switzerland today. Their magnitude could be “massively larger” in the future, he warned.
The centrist also suggested that he wanted to continue the reinforced international cooperation launched by Viola Amherd. “Our answers must be as cross-border as threats,” he said. But, where Valaisanan had warned against the Brutalization of political discourseMartin Pfister called for “filling the ditches”; It is not enough to note the severity of the threat, “it is now necessary that all the forces come together”.
To do this, the new federal adviser will certainly have an attentive ear with the Swiss security alliance. The question is whether he will also be able to rally the majority of the parliament to his cause – and if he will be able to demonstrate in a credible way that he will also clean up inside the army and DDPS.
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