Swiss finance expert defends austerity measures

A Swiss government-appointed group of experts has proposed a series of over 60 measures to help federal finances out of the red and save CHF4-5 billion ($4.7-5.9 billion) a year. Keystone-SDA

The head of the group of experts for the Swiss government's savings proposals sees his work vindicated by recent criticism. The criticism from all camps shows that the proposals are relatively balanced, said Serge Gaillard in an interview with NZZ am Sonntag.

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Gaillard can’t estimate how many of the more than 60 recommendations will actually be implemented. “But it is possible that even better proposals will be put on the table,” said the former head of the Federal Finance Administration in the interview published on Sunday.

He has received criticism from the left and the right, from central cantons and peripheral regions. “You don’t make friends with austerity,” said Gaillard.

+ Expert group proposes CHF4-5 billion in cuts to federal budget

The group of experts had reviewed over 300 individual budget items. The good news is: “The federal government is doing a lot of things sensibly, a lot of the expenditure is well justified and effective,” said Gaillard. The proposals also showed that Switzerland could make savings “without the world coming to an end”.

The report on the situation of federal finances presented by a group of experts on Thursday identified potential savings of up to CHF5 billion ($5.9 billion) from 2030.

The centre-right Radical-Liberal Party and right-wing Swiss People’s Party welcomed the proposal, while left-wing parties, the Social Democrats and the Greens rejected it. The Conference of Cantonal Governments warned against prematurely shifting the burden to the cantons.

Round tables with the cantons, political parties and social partners will be convened over the next few days. The next steps are to be determined at the end of September. The government is expected to conduct an ordinary consultation on the defined measures in January. Parliament will then make a decision.

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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