Leading Swiss politician questions reliability of United States

FDP President Burkart questions the reliability of the USA Keystone-SDA

The president of the Swiss Radical Party has expressed concern over the reliability of the United States.

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“Within a short space of time, Donald Trump has elevated uncertainty to a political principle,” Thierry Burkart told the Tamedia newspapers on Thursday.

The US is moving away from a classic liberal democracy and is increasingly pursuing a hard-nosed power policy. In doing so, it would partly be moving into the mindset of autocratic states. This could have long-term economic consequences, particularly for the US itself.

Switzerland must react to this geopolitical uncertainty, emphasised Burkart. It needs clear security and defence policy priorities in order to face up to the changed situation. At the same time, however, it must not “lapse into hyperactivity in terms of foreign policy”.

The politician called for the Federal Council to “finally reach a security policy consensus in terms of an overall defence strategy” after three years of war in Ukraine.

“Preference to European providers”

When asked whether it was a mistake to have relied on American products for the renewal of air defence, Burkart said: “In the case of equivalent offers, we should give preference to European suppliers in order to strengthen their industry and make us less dependent on the US”. Nevertheless, the American arms industry is so dominant that Switzerland has hardly any alternatives in certain areas.

The procurement of the F-35 fighter jet has been underway for several years. To cancel this now would be wrong and would lead to a glaring gap in Swiss air defence, Burkart continued.

Burkart emphasised that Switzerland must focus on its role as a reliable partner in the current global situation. Neutrality does not mean neutrality of opinion, he said with regard to the war in Ukraine. “We can and must clearly state that Russia is the aggressor that has broken international law.”

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Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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