Wrong priorities in the army SVP leaders demand the resignation of Federal Councillor Viola Amherd
The leaders of the SVP demanded the resignation of Federal Councillor Viola Amherd on Saturday. The party with the most voters accused the defense minister of setting the wrong priorities for the army.
11.01.2025, 15:24
11.01.2025, 20:33
SDA
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- The head of the SVP is calling for the resignation of Federal Councillor Viola Amherd.
- Switzerland is no longer in a position to independently ensure the security of the country and its population.
- In addition, Amherd "would rather deal with gender issues in the army than with equipment".
Switzerland is no longer in a position to independently ensure the security of the country and its population, the SVP wrote in a statement. Switzerland has ended up in this situation due to "political errors" and "wrong appointments" in the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS).
According to the party, Switzerland's freedom, neutrality and external and internal security are under threat. In addition, Amherd "would rather deal with gender issues in the army than equipment". The cadre of the SVP Switzerland met in Horn TG for an annual conference.
Members of parliament from the centrist party countered the accusations against their Federal Councillor on the short messaging service X: "After decades of running the army into the ground under SVP-DDPS leadership and being responsible for x number of haphazard projects, the first female defense minister to make the army defensible again is being attacked. Pretty transparent...", wrote Marianne Binder, a member of the Aargau parliament from the Center Party. For Center Party parliamentary group leader Philipp Matthias Bregy, the SVP has thus definitively said goodbye to government responsibility.
At the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency, the DDPS declined to comment on the allegations.
Parliamentary delegation concerned about army projects
During the winter session in December, the Finance Delegation (Findel) of the Federal Assembly sent a letter to the head of the DDPS. In the letter, it expressed its concern about the state of several army projects, as Findel President and National Councillor Lars Guggisberg (SVP/BE) told Keystone-SDA on Saturday. The "NZZ" and the "Blick" reported on the letter on Saturday.
According to Findel, the situation of some projects in the DDPS had deteriorated. These include the purchase of drones and the renewal of a command and communication system. Findel is planning a discussion with Amherd in mid-February.
The DDPS confirmed receipt of the letter. Amherd's department wrote that it would respond to Findel's request during the next discussion.