Esken rejects conscription proposal by Pistorius

Defense - Esken rejects conscription proposal by Pistorius

SPD leader Saskia Esken has rejected considerations by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) regarding a return to compulsory military service. "I don't think much of reintroducing compulsory military service, an obligation for adults, based on my view of humanity," said Esken in an interview with the German Press Agency. "I believe that the Bundeswehr is now well positioned as a professional army and needs to be developed further."

In an interview with "Welt am Sonntag", Defense Minister Boris Pistorius had said that he was examining models of compulsory service in view of the shortage of personnel in the Bundeswehr and was looking at the Swedish conscription model. "There, all young men and women are conscripted and only a selected number of them end up doing their basic military service. Whether something like this would also be conceivable here is part of these considerations," said Pistorius. He is examining all options. "But every model, no matter which one, also needs political majorities."

Esken: Training units not available

The coalition partner FDP has already rejected the idea. Now the SPD minister is also encountering rejection in his own party. "I believe that there were good reasons for the suspension and de facto abolition of compulsory military service," party leader Esken told dpa. The Bundeswehr has now developed in such a way that it would not be able to implement compulsory military service ad hoc. "Because the training units required for this are no longer available."

Esken emphasized that the lack of fairness in military service was one reason for the abolition of compulsory military service in Germany. And this could not be achieved with the Swedish model either. This refers to the fact that in the Bundeswehr, only part of a year group was obliged to serve.

Scholz has rejected the conscription debate

Compulsory military service was suspended in Germany in 2011 after 55 years. Shortly after taking office, Pistorius described this as a mistake that could not be corrected in the blink of an eye. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had rejected a debate on a return to compulsory military service in February. "The Bundeswehr has been transformed into a professional army. Therefore, a return to compulsory military service makes no sense," he told the "Bild" newspaper at the time. In contrast, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces Eva Högl (SPD), like Pistorius, has expressed sympathy for the Swedish model.

Sweden had suspended compulsory military service in 2010 shortly before Germany. Against the backdrop of a deteriorating security situation, the country returned to compulsory service in 2018, and conscription began in the summer of 2017. "We have had difficulties manning the combat units on a voluntary basis," said the then Swedish Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist, explaining the decision.