Swiss worried by global security situation

The global security situation worries the Swiss Keystone-SDA

The global political situation has the Swiss population worried about their security. In this context, the army must play a role, with higher spending, they say. A closer relationship with NATO is also viewed favourably.

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Some 86% of those questioned were pessimistic about the global political situation. The future of Switzerland is also a cause for concern.

According to the Security 2026 survey presented on Tuesday by the defence ministry, the general feeling of security has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. Over 80% of respondents consider the armed forces to be “absolutely” or “rather necessary”.

Conversely, a quarter would like to see compulsory military service abolished. Not since the end of the Cold War has this percentage been so low, the study points out. At the same time, the proportion of people who feel that defence spending is too low has never been so high (29%) since 1986.

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The study also notes that a slight majority are in favour of closer ties with defence alliance NATO. Neutrality is also being called into question: more than half of respondents believe that neutrality can no longer be credibly defended militarily.

Adapted from French by AI/ts

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