F-35 case: For Oswald Sigg, the Federal Council dropped Viola Amherd

Former chancellor and ex-spokesperson of the Federal Council, Oswald Sigg delivers an interesting reading on the Direct-magazine.ch site of the F-35 crisis which has touched the Federal Bern for several weeks. The reason is the additional costs announced for the purchase of the 36 planes, while Viola Amherd and the Federal Council had always mentioned a “fixed price” around the 6 billion francs. But today, there would have been a “misunderstanding” with the Americans and the bill could climb a billion or more.

Oswald Sigg, who is expressed today as a citizen, says that she did not understand “how such a serious” misunderstanding “could have occurred. Such negotiations are always recorded in a report, each word is recorded in writing. I cannot imagine that it was otherwise during these negotiations. This is why I find it unacceptable that we say today that we do not know exactly what the American part heard by fixed price ”.

“For me, he continues, the responsibility of this whole affair does not only fit Viola Amherd, but also to the Federal Council as” college “. In a case of this importance and this financial scope, the principle of the college government should have worked better. The entire Federal Council should have supported Viola Amherd more. ”

The socialist goes further by finally finding “unacceptable the way in which Viola Amherd was treated. She had to leave the federal council tears in her eyes, I have never seen this before. I have the impression that the other members of the Federal Council abandoned it in this case, when they knew perfectly where it was going to lead. ”

Today, he believes that if the Federal Council really wishes to buy the F-35, he should again consult the people, especially since the result of the first vote in 2021 was very tight: “Otherwise, the confidence of the population in political institutions would be weakened. However, an agreement of the Parliament would be necessary to organize a new vote ”.