Germany is considering returning to national service after the war in Ukraine demonstrated that “peace is not a law of nature.”
Political leaders from all sides of the Bundestag supported the reintroduction of compulsory service in the German army a week after the chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to spend 85 billion pounds sterling at a time to strengthen the country’s armed forces.
In the decision welcomed as an awakening of a dormant European giant, Mr. Scholz also pledged to boost Germany’s defense spending above 2 percent of GDP by 2024, in line with NATO requirements for the first time.
Germany is considering returning to national service after the war in Ukraine demonstrated that “peace is not a law of nature.” Pictured: Soldiers of the German Bundeswehr Enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania on 22 February.
Now ministers are pushing for a reintroduction of compulsory service, with Carsten Linnemann, deputy leader of the conservative CDU, saying on Sunday it would “do real good” for Germany by bringing people together.
“Now we are seeing that the world is not a law of nature,” Linnemann said in an interview with the ZDF television channel.
He also said that in Germany “too many people put themselves above the state” and that compulsory service could counteract growing polarization.
Scholz’s ruling centre-left SPD is also calling for the return of conscription for men and women over 18.
Wolfgang Helmich, the SPD defense spokesman in the Bundestag, said the program “would promote a sense of community” and called for an urgent debate on the issue.
“It needs a public consensus,” he said. Telegraph.
Until 2011, all adult German males had to complete a year of compulsory military service, although they could also – for moral reasons – serve in civilian society.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (center) at the Forest of Memory memorial during a visit to the Bundeswehr Operational Command in Schwielowsee, Germany, March 4, 2022.
Although the law was passed at the end of the program, it was said at the time that conscription could be reinstated in times of war or heightened tensions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 prompted Scholz to make the historic announcement of an increase in Germany’s defense budget just three days later.
In Germany, there have been recent calls to return compulsory service, but it is clear that the Ukrainian crisis has made this position more popular.
Speaking to Die Welt newspaper, CDU Bundestag deputy leader Johann Wadephul said the mandatory military service would be “a chance to find many more recruits” for the German army as it expands in the coming years.
He also proposed a system that would allow those in the military to earn points in the pension system or an easier path to university places.
Other politicians were more skeptical of the proposal, arguing that German troops should focus on modernization.
A MP applauds during a speech by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the Russian invasion of Ukraine during a meeting of the German federal parliament, the Bundestag, at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, February 27, 2022.
“We need technology and weapons systems, not brains. At the moment, conscription is not a problem.” This was stated by the official representative of the CDU in the Bundestag, Florian Hahn, reports The Telegraph.
In yet another rejection of Germany’s pacifist sentiment, Lithuania’s defense minister said on Sunday that the country would deploy air defense assets in Lithuania.
Lithuania said the United States would send a military battalion armed with tanks.
In addition to the £85bn one-time cost, Germany also announced it would send 1,000 anti-tank weapons, 500 Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems and thousands of gallons of gasoline to Ukraine.
The £85bn one-time special fund and the promise of more spending go a long way for Germany, which has come under fire from the United States and other NATO allies for not investing adequately in its defense budget.
It currently spends only about 1.5% on defense, but the new commitment will make it the largest defense spending country in Europe.
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