Switzerland: The Champion Saver Of Europe

Switzerland: The Champion Saver Of Europe by Armando Mombelli, SwissInfo.ch

Public debt in non-EU Switzerland corresponds to barely 33% of gross domestic product (GDP), while the EU average is more than 85%. Yet almost every year the Swiss government comes up with new ways to cut public spending. Financial prudence or a savings mania? 

“Switzerland is heading towards bankruptcy,” declared the weekly magazine Facts in 1997 after a series of deficits in the state coffers running into the billions. The magazine folded a few years later, while the Swiss public accounts are today in good shape.

Actually they are in excellent shape. Along with Norway – where income from oil boosts revenue – Switzerland is the only European country to...