Premature or inaudible, the “change of time” (zeitenwende) decreed by Olaf Scholz in the beginnings of the Russian invasion in Ukraine will not have caused the desired impact on German military orientations. “In the current threat situation”, the suspension of military service in Germany, effective since 2011, “is no longer suitable,” Florian Hahn, a CSU deputy – the CDU Allied Party – on Tuesday March 4 – with the newspaper with the newspaper Bild.
“The first called will have to cross the doors of the barracks in 2025,” said the spokesperson for party defense issues. With these declarations, the debate on a reintroduction of compulsory military service returns in force in Germany in a context marked by the Russian-American rapprochement, encouraging European governments to build a common defense.
“Compulsory military service must be reintroduced”
The future chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose CUR/CSU conservative camp won the legislative elections of February 23, had also insisted, in the aftermath of his victory, on the need for Germany and Europe to prepare for “the worst scenario”, an abandonment of the American ally, by creating an autonomous defense.
In an interview with the magazine Sternthe veteran of German politics Joschka Fischer, former Minister of Foreign Affairs ecologist (1998-2005) goes in the same direction.
“Compulsory military service must be reintroduced. For both sexes. Without this measure, we will not progress in the protection of Europe,” said the former defender of the abolition of conscription.
The price to pay for chronic underinvestment
The conservatives, who currently lead consultations with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with a view to forming a government coalition, have long been in favor of a reintroduction of a compulsory service, also including young women, with the possibility of performing a service of general interest.
“We need a much more important workforce for the Bundeswehr – I do not engage on figures – but we will not be able to get out with the current workforce,” said Friedrich Merz on Monday.
Currently, the Bundeswehr has 181,174 staff in uniform, and 33,000 reservists, according to the latest official figures.
Under the outgoing government, the Minister of Social Democratic Defense Boris Pistorius – who has a good chance of appearing in the next executive – had developed a project to encourage young people to carry out their military service, by establishing a compulsory census of potential recruits.
The prospect of a return of the compulsory conscription was then considered complicated. In particular, the question of the means of reception and conscripts were asked, while the Bundeswehr is upgrading after years of under-investment by successive governments.