The head of the Swiss crisis planning for security of supply is a part-time job. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the number of staff in the responsible federal office shrank significantly. The Federal Council now wants to take countermeasures. Also under discussion is an increase in compulsory stocks for food, medicines and energy sources.
The scarcity of energy sources is one of the many possible crisis scenarios.
The corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine have reminded Switzerland and the world that crisis preparedness should not be seen as a dry run. Contingency planning is suddenly a hot topic again. There is no shortage of conceivable future crises: power outages, widespread cyber attacks, new pandemics, natural disasters, escalating conflict between China and the West and much more.
Switzerland has a militia organization for the national economic supply for such crises with around 250 management and management personnel. “The national economic supply is the task of the economy,” says the relevant law. However, it also states that the federal government must intervene in the event of a serious shortage.
The neuralgic topics include energy, food, medicines, logistics, IT/telecommunications and industry. Means of intervention in the event of shortages are austerity appeals, quotas and rationing to reduce demand, as well as import promotions, export restrictions, the release of compulsory stocks and production interventions to increase supply.
Boss with 40 percent mandate
The Federal Office for National Economic Supply serves as the staff office for the organization. This currently has the equivalent of 32 full-time positions – a third fewer than in 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell. The organization as a whole is managed by a part-time delegate with a 40 percent workload.
That’s no longer the case, says the Federal Council, mainly based on the experience of the pandemic. The war in Ukraine has also confirmed the need for reform, stressed Economics Minister Guy Parmelin. The Federal Council has one on Wednesday expansion decided by the organization for national supply.
On the one hand, the government wants to make the head of the national economic supply “as soon as possible” a full-time position. However, this requires a change in the law and should not apply silently across the stage. According to one of those involved, it is no coincidence that this top position is enshrined in law as a secondary position: the economy did not want full-time civil servants at the top of the supply organization, but a person from active business life. “It must remain a militia office,” says Henrique Schneider, deputy director of the trade association. This applies more than ever, because the pandemic has shown that officials are not close to the economy. The trade association lets you talk to yourself about the workload: It doesn’t matter whether it’s a full-time job or a part-time job, but the person must also have a function in the economy.
The 66-year-old Werner Meier is currently the delegate for state supply. He worked for the Alpiq electricity group until the end of 2020 and is now working as a freelance consultant for crisis management. A 40 percent workload for the supply post is not enough, he says. When asked whether he would be interested in taking on a full-time position himself, he referred to his age.
The government has also decided to increase the number of staff in the Federal Office for National Economic Supply. In a first phase, there will be twelve additional positions. Improvements in terms of management, organization and digitization are also on the agenda for the overall organization for national economic supply. A published on Wednesday report from the Economics Department lists a series of measures. The Federal Council cites, for example, increasing communication and information, greater involvement of the cantons and improving risk management and controlling as keywords.
Expansion of compulsory stocks?
Substantive decisions on national supply were not on the government’s agenda on Wednesday. One conceivable topic is compulsory stocks. The Federal Council prescribes compulsory stocks for certain “essential” goods. These are not held by the federal government, but by companies that import or manufacture such goods. Around 300 companies hold such compulsory stocks. According to federal information, the companies pass on the costs of maintaining compulsory stocks to the sales prices. That costs consumers about 12 francs per capita and year.
The list of compulsory stocks primarily includes food, medicines and energy sources. Typical specifications for the scope of such compulsory stocks correspond to the average domestic consumption of the goods concerned for 2 to 4.5 months (see chart). An expansion of certain mandatory stocks is currently being considered, says Supply Manager Werner Meier. But no decisions have been made yet. Recent expansion decided the Federal Council in January – with the reintroduction of a compulsory stock for rapeseed seed.