After the parliamentary summer break, the SPD wants to introduce compulsory social service of at least three months. “We need more respect in dealing with each other and stronger cooperation in the country,” said the SPD parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Dirk Wiese Rheinische Post. Respect and togetherness are dwindling “in daily interactions and digitally, in outdoor pools, when emergency lanes are not formed, in everyday life or with AfD trolls on the Internet,” said Wiese.
It is therefore necessary to speak openly about the proposals that Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, for example, brought to the debate. In particular, the question is when such a service could be completed and who is eligible. But it is clear: “A social obligation does not have to last a whole year – but at least three months,” said Wiese.
Steinmeier recently spoke out in favor of mandatory social service for young people. The Greens and FDP then commented critically on the initiative. The project is not included in the traffic light coalition agreement. The Union, on the other hand, wants to introduce a mandatory company year in Germany.
The project has been controversial for years. Critics point out that compulsory service leads to constitutional problems. Instead, social organizations are calling for more voluntary work and an expansion of voluntary social and ecological years, for which there are far too few places. They also point out that an expensive infrastructure would have to be set up to set up a compulsory year.