For about a year now, our lives have been different from before. The pandemic shapes everyday life, the economy and politics.
For companies that are struggling with lost sales or cannot do business at all, there are hardship payments. Over 1,000 companies have already submitted an application in the canton of Lucerne (Zentralplus reported). Therefore, the government council wants to fill the pot further: It applies for a new tranche of CHF 21.65 million.
This was undisputed in the Lucerne Cantonal Council on Monday. Ultimately, it is in line with Parliament’s wish that business should be given more support.
Authorities need to provide better information
Nevertheless, there was by no means a peaceful unity. On the contrary, the government had to take a lot of criticism. Because on one point the Cantonal Council agreed on Monday: It needs more speed and better communication.
“Much resentment, letters to the editor and sleepless nights could have been prevented.”
Helen Affentranger, CVP
It was criticized from all sides that the companies did not know enough about their application and what to expect. “Many companies are completely in the air,” said SVP parliamentary group leader Armin Hartmann.
“Much resentment, letters to the editor and sleepless nights could have been prevented,” said Helen Affentranger (CVP). The population, associations and social partners also need to be better informed, the FDP said. And Riccarda Schaller (GLP) added: “The government should take this criticism seriously and respond to it with a dialogue.”
The mail to Bern and the requested opening
Finance director Reto Wyss also had to listen to criticism from the left for his interventions in the last week. On the one hand, the appearance of the central Swiss finance directors made some angry. They warned of the financial consequences of the crisis and called for the measures to be relaxed (Zentralplus reported).
David Roth (SP) described this as “simply shocking” and “irresponsible”. “We are at the bottom of the third wave and you are in favor of opening it as quickly as possible.”
The first decisions were made on Monday: A special loan of CHF 10.8 million was approved for the cultural sector. Also support money for the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and for mountain railways. In a first step, the Cantonal Council also spoke out in favor of giving companies more money in the form of À-fonds-perdu contributions that they no longer have to repay (Zentralplus reported).
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On the other hand, there was talk that Reto Wyss campaigned by email with the Lucerne federal parliamentarians against an expansion of hardship aid (Zentralplus reported). However, the Cantonal Council did not want to deal with it in detail on Monday. A move by Urban Frye on the subject was not declared urgent.
Reto Wyss taunts back
Finance director Reto Wyss tried to calmly defend the chosen course. The present solution is adequate and expedient, he said. As far as speed is concerned, he referred to the recently publicized abuse of corona loans – and the need for clean procedures (Zentralplus reported).
“We have to slowly give the companies prospects again and not just financial security,” he said, explaining the demand for opening up as quickly as possible. This applies in particular to the staff, some of whom have been on short-time work for a year.
“You provide examples here that it is not that trivial.”
Reto Wyss, Finance Director
For a long time, however, the CVP government council only dealt with criticism of communication in passing. For example, when he mentioned that, in his opinion, the extent of Lucerne’s hardship support is often underestimated. Or when he made a verbal counter-attack and accused several cantonal councilors of being overwhelmed. “You provide examples here that it is not quite so trivial and that the factual understanding of the situation in your council is not yet fully available.”
Testing and vaccination will also be something to talk about
There was also some criticism of the content of the hardship program. Several cantonal councils missed the equalization of officially closed businesses (such as restaurants) and factually closed businesses (such as hotels), which was called for in January. “The lack of understanding is great,” said André Marti (FDP), who, however, “did not want to start bashing against the government council and the finance department”.
After more than around two hours, the treatment had to be interrupted for reasons of time. The decisions will therefore only be made on Tuesday morning, when the debate will continue.
Corona will keep the cantonal council busy on the second day of the March session anyway. It will not only be about the economy, but also about the vaccination strategy and corona tests in the workplace: In total, over a dozen approaches on the subject have been declared urgent.
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