The prices for rent, electricity, health insurance and public transport are determined by politics or the law. Consumers have to pay, they have no alternative. Only politicians can act. The parties present surprising recipes.
Chiara Stäheli, Stefan Bühler / ch media
The announcements follow in quick succession: last autumn, the increase in health insurance premiums by 6.6 percent caused concern. At the same time, consumer goods have also become more expensive due to inflation – and now many tenants are facing a rent increase. In short: the cost of living is rising. What are politicians doing about it? And how does it protect the population from a loss of purchasing power? We asked around.
Pockets are empty: many people have hardly anything left at the end of the month.Bild: KEYSTONE
SVP: Control immigration
The largest party in the country sees the cause of the rise in prices in “the failed Energy Strategy 2050 and the still excessive immigration”, as it communicated on request. The latter in particular is a massive cost driver: “When around 80,000 residents rush to Switzerland every year, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if rents go up.” The increase in population means that public transport is no longer sufficient, hospitals are at their peak and schools are suffering. From the point of view of the SVP, there is therefore only one solution – the implementation of the mass immigration initiative: “Switzerland must control immigration independently.”
SP: More state aid for AHV and day care centers
The loss of purchasing power is causing the SP “great concern,” says co-party president Cédric Wermuth. Switzerland is at the beginning of a social crisis. This can also be attributed to the political majority: “It is no coincidence that the costs for the population are rising precisely where corporate lobbies unfortunately repeatedly prevail in parliament – for example in the health, pharmaceutical or real estate sectors.” In order to strengthen purchasing power, the Social Democrats want to expand premium reductions, introduce a 13th AHV pension, fight the BVG reform and create enough affordable daycare places.
FDP: More market and more digitization
Party leader Thierry Burkart writes that higher energy prices, problems in the supply chain and spiraling inflation are the causes of inflation. It is an “imported inflation”, which at around 3 percent is lower than in other countries. This is “thanks to their own currency”: The FDP trusts the National Bank to guarantee the price stability required by law. Instead of “mothball socialist concepts” there is a need for “more market and more digitization in all areas”. A major price driver for rents is the lack of living space, “especially in the left-green governed cities”. Burkart calls for “more apartments and fewer regulations”.
Center: Make employers more responsible
Party President Gerhard Pfister emphasizes that the center is committed to “protecting the wallets of small and medium-sized businesses and families and maintaining their purchasing power” in various areas. The party recently launched two initiatives aimed at abolishing tax and AHV discrimination for married couples. In addition, the middle calls for a cost brake for the health care system in order to slow down the increase in premiums. And because a shortage of living space is driving up rents, the center advocates limiting objections to smaller construction projects.
Greens: war profits tax for corporations
“The cause of the inflation is our dependence on fossil fuels and the massive increase in raw material prices caused by the Russian war of aggression,” write the Greens. The best recipe is therefore “the move away from fossil fuels” and the “war profits tax” demanded by the Greens on “special profits of large corporations that drive inflation”. With public transport mobility vouchers, the expansion of premium reductions and a rent control, low-income households in particular are to be quickly relieved. In the medium term, the Greens are demanding more state support for public transport and more non-profit housing.
GLP: Energy Efficiency and Densification
According to party president Jürg Grossen, both the inflation caused by the Ukraine war and structural reasons are responsible for the rising costs. The increase in the cost of living “has hit many people hard,” says Grossen. The recipes of the GLP are, among other things: increase energy efficiency and expand renewable energy domestically in order to gain more independence from external price shocks; in health care, for example, digitization and the avoidance of unnecessary services should save costs; in residential construction, the GLP calls for moderate densification and to liberalize, harmonize and purify the processes. (aargauerzeitung.ch)
This might also interest you:
According to current calculations, an electric car has been sold more often worldwide than a combustion engine in recent months. There are reasons.
First time was with the Tesla Model Y an all-electric Auto the most popular in the world in the first quarter of 2023. It was sold 267,200 times from January to March, according to projections by JATO Dynamics. They are based on sales figures from 53 countries.