Pistorius rebuffs criticism of the defense by Lindner and Buschmann
The Bundeswehr faces personnel issues. Defence Minister Pistorius is pushing for a new form of military service, but FDP colleagues Lindner and Buschmann see several problems: too expensive, unfair, and without acceptance. Pistorius merely shrugs his shoulders in response.
The FDP rejects the military service model proposed by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius outright. In a letter to Pistorius, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann welcome the debate on increasing the military's readiness initiated by him. However, they consider a general military or military service obligation unrealistic due to financial, economic, and legal reasons. Instead, the two FDP politicians advocate for increasing the attractiveness of military service and a stronger role for reserves.
"Our goal is to make the Bundeswehr one of the most modern and powerful armies," the letter from the two FDP ministers reads. "We can only achieve this goal with the corresponding societal acceptance. This, in our opinion, excludes the reintroduction of a general military or military service obligation."
Pistorius dismisses the criticism. The letter deals with matters that are not at the heart of the proposal, he said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington. "In school, they would have probably said: off-topic, set, six."
Practitioners and Professionals Strengthen
In their letter, Lindner and Buschmann point out that building new structures for a general military or military service obligation would be a "lengthy and extremely costly process." Moreover, a new military or military service obligation could lead to significant economic losses, as the Ifo Institute determined in a short expert opinion for the Federal Ministry of Finance. "The annual obligation of a quarter of a population cohort in the context of a military or military service obligation, that is, approximately 195,000 people, would, according to the Ifo Institute's calculations, lead to a decrease in national income of 17.1 billion Euros."
Lindner and Buschmann consider it a "prudent measure" to take an inventory of the people in Germany who could be called up in the event of a military conflict. "A further obligation for small groups of a cohort to register or even serve military duty would, however, raise unavoidable questions of military fairness," they write. This would represent a significant intrusion into their freedom and personal life planning for those affected.
To address the Bundeswehr's personnel issues, the two FDP politicians instead advocate for making the military a "more attractive employer." In addition, the role of reservists and reservists should be strengthened. These individuals should be more integrated into the structures of the Bundeswehr because they are the practitioners and professionals the military urgently needs.
The Defense Minister cannot understand this argument. A Finance Minister, who is also a Reserve Major, wished for clear insights into the needs of the troop from him, said Pistorius. There is no need for an Ifo-Report to know that military service or conscription will have economic consequences: "Defense, security has economic and social implications. I have always said that."
Pistorius' new model includes a compulsory military service of six months with an option for an additional voluntary military service of up to an additional 17 months. In addition, a mandatory registration will be introduced, in which young men must declare their readiness and ability for military service. Young women can do this voluntarily. From a pool of 400,000 candidates per year, 5,000 additional conscripts will be recruited annually from 2025, with more to be gained later.
The FDP ministers, Lindner and Buschmann, argue against Defence Minister Pistorius' proposed compulsory military service, citing financial, economic, and legal reasons. They suggest instead focusing on making the German Armed Forces more attractive and strengthening the role of reservists.
The Ifo Institute has determined that implementing a general military or military service obligation could result in significant economic losses, with the obligation of 195,000 people annually leading to a decrease in national income of 17.1 billion Euros.
Marco Buschmann and Christian Lindner argue that the proposed compulsory military service could lead to questions of military fairness, as it would represent a significant intrusion into the freedom and personal life planning of those affected.
