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Against the background of the growing number of corona cases, Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer (69) has warned of hysteria. What is needed is a fact-based analysis, Maurer said in an interview with “Switzerland at the weekend.”
General tightening is not convenient. “It cannot be that schools are closed again and people are locked up. We have to learn to deal with the virus, with a consistent implementation of the measures. But we have to be able to live! “
The point of view should not be limited solely to the development of new infections, Maurer said. It also depends on hospital admissions and deaths. Only for Corona only a few come to the hospital. There are practically always previous illnesses.
Give Switzerland good marks
Switzerland has not dealt badly with the crown crisis so far. The country has found its own sensible path. It is important to continue on this path and constantly rebalance it. The finance minister said it cost a bit too much.
In the ordinary accounts, instead of the budgeted surplus of 300 million Swiss francs, this year there will be a deficit of around 3 billion Swiss francs. According to the extrapolation, the extraordinary invoice will have expenses of around 17.8 billion Swiss francs.
For 2021, the finance department is budgeting for a deficit of 2.6 billion francs, Maurer said, updating estimates from mid-August. This also includes extraordinary expenses. “By 2022 we see a deficit of another billion,” Maurer said. But there are great imponderables.
Finance Minister warns of economic damage “in the coming years”
All the costs of the corona pandemic currently amounted to between 25 and 30 billion francs. Maurer reiterated earlier statements that there would be no tax increases or an austerity package. Thanks to the good federal budget so far, Switzerland can reduce additional debt over time even without such measures.
Much will depend on how the world economy develops. All of this is not over yet. Maurer appealed to financial discipline. “Because once we have survived the crisis of the crown, the economic damage will remain for years,” said the finance minister in the interview. (SDA)
