Fiasco for democracy? Switzerland miscalculates by billions

The Swiss government has made at least three errors in calculations on issues that matter to voters in the past ten years. Politicians warn this is endangering public trust in one of the most trusted governments in the world. On Tuesday, the Federal Social Insurance Office admitted that it had got its sums seriously wrong for projected expenditure for the old-age and survivor insurance (OASI - known as AHV/AVS). In 2033, the annual payment is likely to be around CHF4 billion ($4.7 billion) less, which is around 6% lower, than originally estimates. This is good news on the one hand: the state-managed insurance system is in a better financial position than expected. But the error has caused a political outcry. The Swiss Federation of Trade Unions warned of a loss of confidence in the reliability of official information on pensions. The centre-right Radical-Liberal Party called the miscalculation a “fiasco” and started pointing fingers at government ministers in charge. For her part ...