Does Germany need conscription again? In times of war in Europe and an acute shortage of personnel, Minister Pistorius believes that different models should at least be examined. SPD parliamentary group leader Mützenich has a different idea.
Conscription was mandatory in Germany for 55 years, but has been suspended since 2011. It was not abolished. And so the debate about a return to compulsory military service is not over; it resurfaces regularly. At least since Russia’s war against Ukraine and the associated turning point in German security and defense policy, the topic has increasingly made its way into the headlines. Even if there is currently no political majority in sight for a return to compulsory military service in Germany. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius probably also knew this when he recently published ideas about various compulsory service models.
Of tasks and orders
Now part of Pistorius’ job is to think about how the Bundeswehr can be set up in the best possible way in times of personnel shortages and a war in Europe. He also said that himself: “My job as Defense Minister is to check all conceivable models for their feasibility for Germany so that I have various options for action that I can and must then use to form a political majority,” he said on the “Welt” broadcaster in mid-December “.
SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich now intervened in the simmering debate – with a note that can also be understood as a task to Pistorius: “At this point in time, we should primarily work on making the Bundeswehr more attractive. You must be better equipped, barracks must be repaired. We should concentrate on that,” he told the Germany editorial network.
The Chancellor is also against it
Mützenich doesn’t think much of considerations about a return to compulsory military service, nor does SPD leader Saskia Esken or the coalition partners Greens and FDP. Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected the debate in February. “The Bundeswehr has been converted into a professional army. Therefore, returning to compulsory military service makes no sense,” he told the “Bild” newspaper at the time. At a Bundeswehr conference, Scholz reiterated his rejection.
The coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP states: “The Bundeswehr must be demographically stable and balanced in the long term with regard to the age structure.” Of course, it doesn’t say how this can be achieved.
A far cry from 203,000 soldiers
Like many areas of the economy, the Bundeswehr is suffering from an acute shortage of applicants. Pistorius is currently checking whether the target of 203,000 soldiers set before his term in office will continue to exist. There are currently almost 181,000. The Bundeswehr Association is therefore sounding the alarm – and sees a return to compulsory military service as a last resort. “The Bundeswehr must stop the downward trend in terms of personnel by the end of next year at the latest,” said association head André Wüstner recently to the “Rheinische Post”. Otherwise the operational readiness threatens to “decrease to a level that would hardly be justifiable.”
Sweden as a role model?
When looking for solutions, Minister Pistorius explicitly mentioned the Swedish model. The country suspended compulsory military service in 2010. Against the backdrop of a deteriorating security situation, the country returned to compulsory military service in 2018, and military drafts began in the summer of 2017. “We have had difficulties manning the combat units on a voluntary basis,” said then-Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist. Men and women are drafted for up to twelve months. Pistorius had pointed out that in Sweden all young women and men are mustered, but “only a select few of them end up doing basic military service.”
In the summer, the Bundestag’s military commissioner, Eva Högl, described the idea of a compulsory year of service that could be completed in the civilian or military sector as “worthy of discussion”. And she said: “Like in Sweden, you could invite an entire class of young people to enlist in the Bundeswehr.”
CDU is starting “Social Year”
In the draft of its new basic program, the CDU is relying on a mandatory “social year”. This would also give the Bundeswehr a boost in attractiveness, CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann told the newspapers of the Funke media group. This year could also be completed in the Bundeswehr.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been promoting his idea of compulsory social time since last year. It should last six to twelve months and can be completed at different phases of life.