Officer-level military staff largely sleep in hotels rather than barracks, leading to significant costs, the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper reports.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/NZZ/dos
Some 121,000 such hotel stays were made by officers last year, the paper wrote on Sunday. The cost was CHF8.5 million ($9.74 million), about 40% of the total accommodation costs of the troops.
In 2023, the figure is set to increase by CHF3 million due to a boosting of the army’s daily expense rate for accommodation – from CHF70 to CHF100 for officers and senior non-commissioned officers.
According to the NZZ am Sonntag, the army thus accounts for more hotel stays in the country than Japanese tourists; the hotel association Hotelleriesuisse even advises its members on how to get the most out of army guests, the paper writes.
Political surprise
The practice was criticised by left-wing parliamentarian Franziska Roth, who told the NZZ am Sonntag she was “very surprised” by the extent of it. Roth said it’s not clear that the expenditure is in the interests of security, and that something should therefore change.
Her centrist colleague Lorenz Hess – a former army colonel – told the paper however that “[officers] have always stayed overnight in village boarding houses” and that “it is proper that they are housed separately from troops”. It’s a question of esteem, he said.
That said, even Hess was surprised by the “impressive” figure of 121,000 nights.
Police end attempted occupation of Zurich’s Platzspitz square
This content was published on
A large contingent of police prevented an attempted occupation of the Platzspitz area behind the National Museum in Zurich on Friday afternoon. They checked over 200 people and ordered them away. The group of occupiers cited anti-capitalist motives as the reason for the action.
Adoption reform for Swiss children conceived from donated sperm
This content was published on
Swiss government wants to make it easier for children conceived from donated sperm to be adopted by the partner of their legal parent.
Swiss climate policy favours incentives over taxes from 2030
This content was published on
Swiss climate policy from 2030 favours incentives to reduce CO2 emissions and an additional emissions trading system over taxes.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss army seeks to recruit more women
This content was published on
The Swiss army has said that it is exploring various measures to fill the shortfall in armed forces including recruiting more women.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.