Switzerland should get closer to NATO after Trump victory: Centre Party president

"If [Trump] wants to establish a rapid peace deal in Ukraine, as he has announced, it will be a peace in Russia's favour," said Pfister. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Centre Party President Gerhard Pfister is calling for closer ties with NATO following the US elections. Some of president-elect Donald Trump's announcements could have a negative influence on Swiss security, he said in an interview with the NZZ am Sonntag.

Pfister says he is convinced that cooperation with the transatlantic military alliance is the right way forward in this situation, but “always with strict respect for neutrality”. Switzerland would not send soldiers just anywhere.

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“I don’t want to join NATO,” said Pfister. But for him, consultation with the countries in the alliance is the absolute minimum.

Swiss F-35 fighter jets could in future be integrated into European defence in the event of war, although “of course they won’t be on the front line”, he said. Switzerland could take on air policing tasks to relieve the Europeans.

A dangerous situation for Europe

If the former and future American president keeps his word, the situation will become dangerous for Europe. “If he wants to establish a rapid peace deal in Ukraine, as he has announced, it will be a peace in Russia’s favour,” said the politician.

Asked whether Switzerland would not be better off staying out of the way, he said: “We would then have to make it clear to NATO that we are willing and able to defend ourselves completely, if necessary. With the army’s current defence capability, there are some big question marks for me.”

Operational readiness under threat

According to figures from the defence ministry, the Swiss Army will have fewer than 140,000 personnel by 2030. The reason for this is that each year the army loses more than 11,000 soldiers, who leave before completing their military obligations.

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Departures for medical or other reasons have remained stable. But those leaving for civilian service, who currently account for more than 60%, have increased. The ministry believes that these departures threaten the strength and availability of the armed forces in the medium term.

Parliament and the Federal Council (executive branch) recently decided to stabilise the size of the armed forces through various measures. In particular, the government would like to see the upper limit set for the size of the armed forces to be exceeded for a certain period of time due to the geopolitical situation.

Translated from German with DeepL/gw

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