PGM: Saving in the fog

As President of the host Swiss Music Council and member of the National Council, Stefan Müller-Altermatt opened the exchange between politicians and representatives of various music associations by naming the dichotomy between «financial policy reality and cultural policy responsibility».

As federal expenditure is expected to rise faster than revenue in the coming years, the Federal Council, under the leadership of FDP Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter, has presented «Relief Package 27» (EP 27) with 59 cost-cutting measures. During the meeting, Raphael Capaul from the FDP's General Secretariat presented deficit bars that were threatening to plunge into the red and warned against tax increases as a last resort. Speakers from the industry explained what the cuts could mean for musicians' incomes, which are already under severe pressure.

Relief package burdens music professionals

Alex Meszmer from Suisseculture explained that the cultural sector was affected by at least 22 of the austerity measures, but that it was difficult to pinpoint their specific effects. For example, fewer international projects by Pro Helvetia also generate less copyright compensation, which means that the damage for music creators is far greater than is evident in the austerity package. Meszmer jokingly spoke of an «Easter egg hunt after KKS». He recalled that the Federal Council had emphasized at the presentation of the Cultural Dispatch 2025-28 that it wanted to guarantee appropriate compensation for cultural professionals and improve their working conditions. Parliament had also adopted improvements to social security as a legislative objective. However, nothing has actually happened so far. The income of cultural professionals has been declining since 2016 and further cuts or even just the freezing of funds will further reinforce this trend.

At Pro Helvetia, the EP 27 envisages savings of CHF 1.5 million. As Director Michael Kinzer and Head of the Music Department Dominique Rovini explained, it is hardly conceivable that the Arts Council will withdraw from major platforms such as the Centre culturel suisse. This would mean that around 150 fewer projects with 500 participants would be supported and the current approval rate of around 34% would fall further, with a direct impact on the income of music professionals. Albane Dunand from the Fondation romande pour la chanson et les musiques actuelles pointed out that cutbacks hit those already living in precarious circumstances the hardest. Similarly, in times of austerity, programs aimed at greater equality and diversity are the first to disappear.

Rico Gubler from the Swiss Conference of Music Universities emphasized that the cuts or freezing of funding would lead to smaller and less attractive professional fields. The research landscape would also be affected. The effects of the increase in tuition fees had not been thought through to the end and in some cases were hardly foreseeable. (A KMHS statement on the increase in tuition fees will be published in the issue of Swiss Music Newspaper which will be published on March 26).

Great haste, unclear consequences

During the discussion, Michael Kaufmann from Sonart pointed out that the austerity package would also send a negative signal to the cantons and municipalities, which would then have to follow suit with cuts, resulting in a loss of several times the amounts mentioned in EP 27. The whole thing is incredibly diffuse, Müller-Altermatt confirmed: «We have various federal levels that are responsible for promoting culture and music. We have very indirect financial flows via these levels, we have federal offices, funding bodies and we have very broad effects. If you cut funding for tourism, for example, this also affects creative artists.»

Meanwhile, discussions on EP 27 continued in the National Council immediately after the industry meeting. The differences between the two chambers will be resolved before the end of this session so that the deadline for a possible referendum - which the Greens have already announced - can be met. This means that a referendum can still take place this fall. The umbrella organization Suisseculture is still discussing whether it wants to support a possible referendum, because if EP 27 is rejected, EP 29 is already on the table with possibly even more drastic savings.

In the face of a referendum, all voters will have to ask themselves whether, as Müller-Altermatt so aptly put it, they simply want to describe cultural promotion as an expression of a noble state that does more for its population than what is absolutely necessary. Or whether they see culture as a strategic infrastructure that is vital.

The next PGM meeting will be held on June 3 on the topic of «Social security, minimum salaries and occupational risks».