The lower house of parliament, the National Council, has voted in favour of increasing the defence budget by CHF 4bn.
There’s no disguising the reason - the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Left wing parties would prefer other investments for peace, but they were out voted by the right-wing and centrist parties.
But the financing will come from cutting areas of the civil service and international aid.
The left-wing points out Russia is already bogged down in Ukraine and will have to defeat NATO before reaching Swiss borders – they consider that unlikely.
But the right says security is essential – without it there’s nothing else.
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