The Swiss deserve better than a useless army

Mood

The Confederation plans to make massive cuts in all areas to save money. Only the army will be spared. It’s stupid and distressing.

The Federal Council wants to save 4.6 billion francs by 2030. This Friday afternoon, it presented the measures needed to achieve this. The result is chilling. It’s a massacrethere are no other terms that could describe the budgetary choices of our leaders. Worse: it is a perfectly stupid massacre.

Just take a look at the sectors concerned: daycare centres, social security, climate policy, railway infrastructure, scientific research, sports promotion and press support. Everything that matters will have to tighten its belt.

Is it really necessary to emphasise the importance of these sectors for the population, as well as for the image and reputation of our country? Reducing aid for the promotion of sport, or contributions to the Swiss National Fund, will penalise Switzerland and the Swiss.

It’s not as if many of these sectors are doing well. In French-speaking Switzerland, a terrible shortage has long affected daycare centers, where waiting lists sometimes amount to years. But no matter, Bern wants to save almost a billion francs, and so what if the parents are overwhelmed.

The media sector has been hit hard by repeated and devastating waves of layoffs in recent months. Its situation is critical; the consequences are potentially catastrophic. Information desert, spread of disinformation, weakening of social ties. However, here too, Berne wants to cut.

And what about the environment? Cuts are also planned in climate policy, particularly in the energy efficiency of buildings. However, the building stock generates almost a third of CO emissions.₂ on our territory. This summer’s natural disasters, the increase in heat waves and the succession of temperature records show every day that global warming is already at work.

But Putin must be stopped

All this was already tragic, but becomes tragicomic when we discover the only sector spared: the army.. Which is paradoxical, given that the increase in military spending has directly contributed to weakening federal finances.

Above all, what does the army bring to the Swiss population, beyond compulsory military service, which is largely unpopular and anachronistic?

Oh yes, of course. When Putin’s troops have conquered Ukraine, then invaded Moldova, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Austria, They will find our army on their way. Fortunately, Switzerland will be there to save the continent. Alternatively, we can always bomb Liechtenstein. The Swiss army has already shown that it knows how to do that. While waiting for these future military exploits, recruits continue to die during their service.

The strength of our country does not lie in the army, but in its population, its well-being, its training and its development. Frankly, the Swiss deserve better than a handful of tanks and six billion franc fighter planes.

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