Left-right alliance urges Swiss parliament to reject 2027 budget
Thursday 12th November 2026 on 16:31 in
Switzerland
Switzerland’s National Council Finance Committee has recommended rejecting the federal budget for 2027, after an unusual alliance of the Swiss People’s Party, the Social Democrats and the Greens voted against it, SRF reported.
The committee voted 15 to 9, with one abstention, to reject the result of its budget deliberations. It is urging the full National Council to send the draft back to the Federal Council during the winter session, when parliament is due to debate next year’s budget.
The Swiss People’s Party opposes two planned increases in value-added tax. One would help fund the 13th old-age and survivors’ insurance pension, on which voters are due to decide at the end of the month. The other is intended to finance the army and still needs parliamentary approval, though it is already included in the government’s budget plans. The party wants the increases removed and further savings made instead.
“The army should be funded by setting priorities, not by additional VAT increases,” People’s Party lawmaker Lars Guggisberg told SRF News. He said further cuts were needed in development aid, migration and asylum, federal staffing and external services. “By saying no to the budget, we are now pulling the emergency brake,” he said.
The Social Democrats and Greens, by contrast, say the budget cuts too much to fund the army. Social Democratic lawmaker Sarah Wyss said the draft included savings on staff, climate protection, development cooperation and health, as well as substantial additional spending on agriculture. She also criticised the rejection of left-wing proposals, including one on affordable rents.
Centre Party lawmaker Reto Nause called the committee’s decision uncompromising and “un-Swiss,” warning it could lead to chaos. He said the parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum had stuck to their maximal demands despite securing some concessions, adding that the approaching election year was becoming apparent.
Parliament must take up the budget during its debate, and the National Council will consider more than 100 amendments from the committee. If both chambers reject the revised budget in their final votes, it would return to the Federal Council for revision. The same would happen if either chamber rejected it twice in a final vote.