Swiss finance minister upbeat about Covid debt reduction

Maurer (picture of a debate in parliament last year) has repeatedly criticised the government Covid policy. Keystone/Alessandro Della Valle

Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has ruled out massive spending cuts to cope with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Switzerland.

In an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper, Maurer said it should be possible to reduce the debts amassed within the next decade if a strict spending policy was maintained. He added that the government won’t have the possibility to take on new tasks.

Maurer reiterated that the surplus of the Swiss National Bank could be used to alleviate the debt burden.

The national government and parliament have so far pledged about CHF39 billion ($42.4 billion), while the cantonal authorities spent another CHF5 billion in 2020 and 2021.

Additional costs, notably long-term damage to the business sector and the education, will bring total costs of the pandemic for the Swiss economy to up to CHF70 billion, he estimates.

Maurer said some lessons must be learnt from the management of the crisis, notably the balance between health and the economy and better coordination between the national government and the 26 cantons.

“But overall, it went quite well,” he said.

The government on Wednesday decided in principle to use up to CHF1.3 billion of the National Bank’s surplus annually to help reduce the debt. It will present a detailed plan and a timetable later this year.