A majority of Germans consider theWehretat too small
A week ago, the traffic light coalition heads agreed on key points for the 2025 budget. The Bundeswehr is reportedly set to receive five billion euros less than Defense Minister Pistorius demanded. According to a survey, more than half of the population considers defense spending to be too low.
A majority of Germans believe the defense spending planned by the traffic light government is insufficient. In a survey for ZDF's "Politbarometer," 52 percent of respondents stated that the federal government does too little for the financing of the Bundeswehr. Eleven percent said it does too much, and 31 percent consider the planned financing to be just right.
The coalition heads of the traffic light government reached an understanding on key points for the budget a week ago. The agreement includes a smaller defense budget than requested by Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius. He had requested a need of approximately 58 billion euros, but the compromise only allows for around 53 billion euros. The defense budget is expected to reach around 80 billion euros by 2028.
The "Politbarometer" also asked about the ability to defend and deter through NATO during its recent summit in Washington, D.C., celebrating its 75th anniversary. The judgment of the respondents is divided: 48 percent believe NATO is well-equipped in this regard, while 42 percent doubt it.
For the representative "Politbarometer," the Mannheimer Research Group interviewed 1,341 randomly selected eligible voters by telephone and online from July 9-11. The possible error margin lies between two and three percentage points.
The Federal military, the Bundeswehr, is set to receive less funding than initially demanded by Defense Minister Pistorius, as per the recent budget agreement by the traffic light coalition heads. The majority of Germans, as revealed in surveys, consider German defense policy to be underfunded. This issue was also discussed at NATO's summit in Washington, D.C., where opinions were divided on NATO's ability to defend and deter. Household policy, monetary policy, and other political matters were not mentioned in this context. The interviews for the survey were conducted by the Mannheimer Research Group in Berlin.
