Federal Councillor Viola Amherd at the KMU Swiss Symposium: "Don't panic".
For the first time in more than two years, the KMU Swiss Symposium was held again at the Trafo Baden. The theme was "Future Switzerland - A Care Case?!" More than 300 people enjoyed exciting speeches, discussion rounds and show acts.
It was actually an anniversary event: 20 years ago, Armin Baumann, founder and CEO of KMU Swiss, had the idea of a networking event with presentations and discussion panels. If it hadn't been for the pandemic-related two-year interruption of the event series, Armin Baumann would have been able to welcome the audience to the 20th edition of the KMU Swiss Symposium at the Trafo Baden on March 17, 2022... But even without this round number, the event certainly had something extraordinary to offer: Despite her packed schedule, Federal Councillor Viola Amherd, Head of the Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport DDPS, was invited to speak at the event.
The theme of the conference was also a challenge: Are we doing as well in Switzerland as we think? What is the dependency of economic factors and do structural changes have an impact on the growth of the economy? A crisis reveals weak points. This calls for far-sighted and timely decisions, said Armin Baumann in his opening address. "Unfortunately, the situation is still one of reacting instead of acting," Baumann said.
Federal Councillor Viola Amherd on old and new threats
The crisis situation - a pandemic that has not yet been overcome and the warlike events in Ukraine - therefore made the defense minister's appearance highly topical. So is Switzerland "a nursing case" when it comes to security? Viola Amherd emphasized that the current situation shows us that security cannot be taken for granted. Federal Councillor Amherd explained how the issue of security has then become and will continue to be an increasingly central topic in politics. "Security, that's what's expected of politics," Amherd said - also with a view to the many SMEs that, while proving time and again that they can handle crises well, also need the appropriate conditions to do so. The army - "as the last insurance" - in turn must also constantly arm itself against new threat situations. "New threats, such as cyber, do not replace old ones," Amherd emphasized. But: "We have to invest in cyber defense, we still have some catching up to do." When asked whether there had been increased cyber attacks on Switzerland in connection with the Ukraine war, Federal Councillor Viola Amherd replied in the negative. "We must not panic," she said, but they are very vigilant. And when asked about compulsory military service for women as a possible solution to the "shortage of skilled workers" in the army and also as an element of equality, the defense minister had the following message: "I don't see compulsory military service for women as the first option, it would be better to finally implement equal pay."
"Nursing case" Retirement provision
In further presentations, the "care case Switzerland" was illuminated from different perspectives. Neuroscientist Claudia Thali established a connection between the promotion of creativity and future viability. The speaker used examples such as thinking "outside the box" to show that creativity helps to find solutions for the future. However, creativity needs time and space. And today's managers need to provide more of this.
Indeed, old-age provision is a "care case" - "or it could become one," according to Prof. Dr. Aymo Brunetti of the University of Bern. He pointed out a fundamental problem with the current system: Rising life expectancy coupled with the fixed retirement age. In connection with the demographic development, this leads to the fact that the number of people capable of working does not continue to increase, but the number of over-65s does. Aymo Brunetti therefore advocated making the retirement age more flexible. This means that if life expectancy increases, the retirement age must also increase. This would stabilize the system. After all, unilateral measures, such as increasing revenues to secure retirement or reducing expenditures, i.e. lower pensions, are hardly politically realistic. Josef Zopp, BVG specialist at Weibel Hess & Partner AG, which regularly compares the performance of pension funds, made similar arguments. In particular, he pointed out striking differences in the treatment of retirement assets by pension funds. Interest as the "3rd contributor" is often underestimated as a factor, which can then become painfully apparent in the amount of retirement capital. And the conversion rate - currently at 6.8 percent - would still be too high if it were reduced to 6 percent, as is currently being discussed. This is because some pension funds already apply significantly lower conversion rates today.
Future viability of SMEs emphasized
Examples of how "future viability" can be understood in concrete terms away from a "care case" were provided by the presentations of Guido Konrad (Varian Medical Systems Imaging Labs), Ernst Gisin (Stahlton Bauteile AG) and Nina Suma (Fortyseven). Guido Konrad used the example of his company to explain the added value of Switzerland for development sites of international companies. Ernst Gisin, in turn, turned his attention to the construction industry, which is also undergoing radical change. And finally, Nina Suma showed how ThermalBaden AG has contributed to the revitalization of Baden as a tourist destination with the "Fortyseven" spa. The presentations and networking opportunities were complemented by the information stands of over 20 exhibitors.
