Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Defence Minister Martin Pfister had to fill two key positions at the same time: the head of the armed forces and the head of the Federal Intelligence Service. The succession now seems to be settled.
Security is the major theme running through today’s briefing – be it in airspace, the production of licence plates in prisons or freight transport.
It’s been clear since February that following the resignation of armed forces chief Thomas Süssli and Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) Director Christian Dussey, two central posts in the defence ministry needed to be filled. The successors for both posts have now been finalised.
The new head of the armed forces is Benedikt Roos. Roos, from Bern, who is currently in command of the army, was already mentioned as a possible successor to Süssli at the beginning of the year. The defence ministry wrote in a press release that his high level of leadership and social competence enables him to “tackle conflicts directly and in a solution-oriented manner”. Roos will take up his new role as Chief of the Armed Forces on January 1.
Serge Bavaud will succeed Christian Dussey as director of the FIS on November 1. Just this summer, Bavaud was appointed Swiss ambassador to Algeria. The defence ministry press release emphasises his leadership experience and knowledge of political processes.
After drones violated Polish airspace on Wednesday night, the question is being asked in Bern: could Switzerland defend itself against attacks from the air?
“The drones could not have been shot down,” Defence Minister Martin Pfister told CH Media. The FA-18, currently the most modern fighter jet in the Swiss Air Force, would not be able to detect such drones, “partly because the performance of the radar system is not sufficient”, he said.
After the Russian attack on Poland, Pfister is certain that “the F-35 could fend off such drone attacks, which is another reason why it is so important to us”. According to the government, the first of these jets should be delivered in mid-2027. There are still disputes regarding the fixed price for the 36 F-35s ordered, which the US no longer accepts – or rather the question of whether Switzerland should pay more or order fewer jets.
In addition to the F-35, Switzerland’s air defence is also to be strengthened by the American Patriot system. Switzerland ordered five of these systems in 2022, which are to be delivered between 2026 and 2028. However, not everything is going according to plan here either, with the procurement being delayed because the US wants Ukraine to be equipped with new systems first.
Two years ago, a goods train derailed in the Gotthard Base Tunnel owing to a broken wheel. The cost of the damage: CHF150 million ($188 million). New measures are now set to make freight transport safer.
On the one hand, these concern the wheel diameter. As wheels wear out and become smaller, they are to be removed from service earlier in future. Second, the wagons are to be inspected more frequently.
The measures were developed by the Federal Office of Transport and experts from the industry. While the measures would be sufficient in the short term, a Europe-wide approach is also needed in the longer term, says Michael Müller from the Federal Office of Transport.
However, the measures taken are not enough for everyone. Rail expert Ruedi Beutler from the Gotthard team of experts told Swiss public television, SRF, that the checks were based on residual stress measurements of the wheels. “These measurements say nothing about the formation of cracks in the wheel, but only about how cracks can spread,” he said. In his opinion, a visual inspection would be more appropriate.
For parliamentarian Josef Dittli, the new measures go too far with regard to wagon maintenance. He fears bottlenecks in the availability of railway wagons due to the frequent inspections. In principle, however, Dittli welcomes the fact that major steps have been taken in terms of safety with these measures. He now wants to campaign for stricter regulations to apply not only in Switzerland but throughout Europe.
More and more cantons are having licence plates made in prison. However, the procedure is not without controversy.
After four cantons in western Switzerland and Ticino, canton Bern recently decided to have its licence plates produced in prisons, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) reports. Other cantons such as Graubünden and Lucerne are also looking into this possibility.
Criticism has been levelled in relation to the security issue, for example by Bernese parliamentarian Werner Salzmann from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party. “If criminals learn to produce number plates that can be easily forged, it’s highly risky,” he told the NZZ.
Stefan Rupp, deputy head of the Road Traffic Office of canton Bern, argues that the production environment is monitored by the state. “This reduces the risk of signs being produced and circulated in an uncontrolled manner,” he said.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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