Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Something has cracked at the heart of Swiss defence. The army is far from satisfied with Ruag, the federally owned armament company and main partner of the armed forces. The problems could have real consequences on operational readiness. What does parliament think about this?
The relationship between the Swiss army and Ruag MRO, the arms company wholly owned by the federal government, is strained. Confidential government documents addressed to the parliamentary management committees, seen by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), show a marked decline in the satisfaction of the main customer, the Swiss armed forces.
The document refers to a survey assessing the military’s satisfaction with Ruag in percentage terms. It fell from 61% in 2024 to 51% in 2025.
According to the government, the problems are not limited to delays but concern structural aspects: value for money, a high administrative burden and poor punctuality. The army leadership fears consequences for the deployment capability of troops, which depends on the maintenance of complex systems such as jets, tanks and mortars.
That relations between the army and the defence company were so strained caused surprise and concern in parliament. Politicians emphasise that Ruag is a central partner for national defence and have called for immediate action. Some question the current model, suggesting that services be outsourced to other suppliers, including foreign ones, if the company is unable to fulfil its mandate.
Ruag promises improvements but admits that time and resources will be needed. The high age of the systems and supplier delays complicate the work. Without additional costs for the federal government, it will be difficult for Ruag to meet all the needs of the military. In a changed geopolitical environment and with an already weakened reputation, the company has little political credit.
The “No to ten million” immigration initiative of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party is causing apprehension in the border areas, especially in France, where an increase in the number of cross-border workers is feared, which would have a detrimental effect on the real estate market, traffic and infrastructure already under pressure.
The initiative, on which the Swiss people will vote on June 14, calls on the government to act by limiting immigration when the threshold of 9.5 million residents is reached. As a consequence, to compensate for the reduction of the domestic labour force, the use of cross-border labour could intensify.
“We fear that this will make our region even more attractive and create additional difficulties in finding housing and ensuring the functioning of our public services,” the mayor of the French border town of Annemasse, Gabriel Doublet, told Le Matin Dimanche.
Many municipalities in Haute-Savoie are already facing a situation of great pressure, according to an article in 24heures, especially due to traffic, saturated public transport and the socio-economic gap that has been created between cross-border workers, who are paid with lavish Swiss salaries, and those who instead receive salaries in euros in France. It is now practically only the former who can afford to buy accommodation in the region.
Webcams scattered all over Switzerland are widely used, especially those installed in tourist spots. However, a study commissioned by canton Valais after several complaints revealed that almost all of the cameras inspected did not comply with personality protection regulations.
The regulations impose clear limits: people and vehicle number plates must not be recognisable, and filming of sensitive places such as car parks or areas frequented by children must be avoided.
“We expected a large number of webcams to be non-compliant, but not that many,” Loris Loat, data protection officer for canton Valais, told Swiss public broadcaster RTS. Out of 66 devices checked in about ten municipalities, only two were found to be non-problematic.
To take one example, the webcam pointed at the roundabout in the centre of Verbier, which recorded 175,000 views per year. After being found to be non-compliant, the footage is no longer visible online. Cameras installed in other municipalities, such as Ovronnaz, now only show natural landscapes where people are rarely glimpsed.
Sunday was a historic day for Swiss football, and even today, the media continue to hail the success of Thun, which has won the Super League, the top Swiss league, having been promoted last year from the Challenge League.
At Christmas few people would have bet on this victory, writes Swiss public broadcaster RTS, despite the fact that the team had risen to the top of the league table, proving that it had what it takes to play at the highest level.
The cup that Thun is about to lift for the first time in its 128-year history is considered fully deserved by the sports press, which highlights the decisive role of chairman Andres Gerber, sporting director Dominik Albrecht and coach Mauro Lustrinelli.
In Switzerland, only Grasshopper Club Zurich in 1951-52 managed to win the title as a newly promoted team. Even at European level, the exploit is very rare. In the past 75 years, it had happened a total of 14 times before now.
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