Good - But good enough?

Arturo Bris, Professor of Finance at IMD, warns of the political challenges in the coming months. Small economies are often successful, but Switzerland as a small nation does not have the protection of a large organisation like that of the EU such as other small economies. The country must therefore fight for connectivity, and not isolate itself. Individual participants warned against too much state intervention, now and in the future. Others, on the other hand, took a different line: it was not a question of the economy versus the people; the two belonged together in Switzerland. However, they would like to see more of the radical slimming-down in which the state engaged during the crisis, a rethinking of regulations, more flexibility; perhaps, they say, what is needed at the end of the day is a stimulus programme after the loan scheme. Hans Hess, President of Swissmem, the country’s Association of the Mechanical, Electrical and

Metalworking Industries, warns against too much direct support from the state. According to Hess, change must be permitted, even if the industry he represents is currently suffering severely from a lack of orders, payment defaults, and delivery difficulties. In the end, it was primarily up to business leaders themselves to find a way out of the crisis. Economic journalist Peter A. Fischer warns of the danger of the loan programme not really supporting companies in a targeted manner, thus slowing down or even preventing necessary structural change. Nevertheless, three out of every four participants are of the opinion that state intervention is good and appropriate – although only three out of ten have themselves resorted or had to resort to state aid.

TAKEAWAYS:

A strong state is also needed in a crisis.

Interventions should be as short and limited as possible.

Debts from the crisis should not be a burden on future generations.

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How much state intervention should there be?