The traffic light budget is cowardly and fatal
The household 2025 has passed, all traffic light parties ensured they had some success message for their constituency. With money for the Bundeswehr, none of the three points could be achieved, thus the defense ministry remains far behind what is required. This is irresponsible.
In February of this year, a notable statement shaped the debate at the Munich Security Conference: "Without security, everything else is nothing." In truth, what could be more important than a free, self-determined life without threat? This statement was made by Olaf Scholz. On a day like today, one might ask: "Mr. Federal Chancellor, do you really hear yourself?"
On a day like today, it doesn't make a good impression. If without security "everything else" is nothing, then the consequence should be: Before the Federal Government deals with "everything else," it must first ensure security.
The crux of the matter: Whoever wants security cannot only rely on what is currently going on but must take that as a benchmark of what could happen if things go wrong. Unfortunately, things often go wrong. What if, for example, Russia has more breath than Ukraine? If Putin wants to "liberate" the next Russian minorities in Moldova? Or in NATO member state Lithuania? If China intends to swallow Taiwan and Iran puts the first atomic warheads in the cabinet? What do we do then? Does the German position carry weight because the power-hungry of our time see it flanked by military power?
Clearly: No.
When Army Inspector Alfons Mais discovered in February 2022 that the Bundeswehr was "more or less empty," Germany had not yet sent three of its twelve Patriot batteries to Ukraine, nor 18 Leopard tanks, nor artillery ammunition. And the idea of stationing a permanent brigade of 5000 soldiers and soldiers in Lithuania, equipped with everything needed, was not even on the table. The goal of reforming conscription, raising the reserve from the current 60,000 to 260,000 people, was also not a topic when Mais declared his own troops incapable of action due to a lack of material.
A few days after Mais' alarming statement, the special fund was announced: 100 billion Euros outside the budget, exclusively for defense. That was correct, but this money is already fully planned, among other things, for modern camouflage jets and another air defense system. The total modernization needs of the Bundeswehr, according to the defense expert of the Federal Government, amounted to 300 billion Euros last year.
200 billion Euros are still missing to outfit the troops adequately according to the current requirements, according to the expert. The traffic light coalition, however, decided in the previous night on a household 2025 with a plus of 1.7 billion Euros for the defense budget. In other words, they are leaving the Bundeswehr in a non-defensive state for the foreseeable future.
The Bundeswehr has not always been in such a poor state. Until the early 1990s, it had 36 Patriots in stock and not only 12. Until the mid-1980s, German defense spending in relation to economic output was 3% or more every year. They reached an average of 3.4% during the five-year chancellorship of Willy Brandt.
In the past, at the beginning of the 1970s, war there a war in Europe? No. Willy Brandt based his fiscal policy on the understanding that security is relevant (Scholz also agrees) and therefore needs to be paid for (Scholz does not).
After two and a half years of Russian occupation war in Europe, one might have hoped that the traffic light coalition would follow Brandt's example in the 2025 budget negotiations. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
There will be no significant increase in the defense budget. 1.7 billion Euro instead of the 6.5 additional billion Euro requested by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. With a total budget volume of 481 billion Euro, that is enormously little.
There is widespread agreement among security experts and experts that a two-digit billion amount is necessary annually. Then, the necessary steps towards an army could be taken, which would actually be able to defend the country against an attack. Such an army could deter a potential attacker, which the Bundeswehr is currently not able to do.
A government that maintains this state of affairs is acting irresponsibly. It only knows: That hardly matters in peacetime.
The traffic light party satisfies its clientele
For defense spending, however, there is no flower pot to be won, for no clientele. The SPD must present a few successes in social policy, the Greens want to show that they have achieved something for climate protection, and the FDP pats itself on the back for having saved the debt brake, with the Union's support.
With a visible result, on opinion polls, ultimately on power retention, the three traffic light parties probably negotiated skillfully in the past night. And all expenditures are important: The economy needs to be supported, educational opportunities for children must improve, the railway needs investments, people should live a dignified life beyond poverty.
Only: What was this fundamental, striking sentence from Scholz? Without security, everything else is nothing. The Ukrainians, who are currently huddling together every night and seeking shelter from Russian rockets in cellars or in some deep garage, know what this sentence means. They would probably be willing to save even more and more painfully in all areas if they could thus achieve security.
One could listen to them and their president to learn how one can arm oneself against such misery. In peacetime. But the chances are poor for a chancellor who does not even listen to himself.
- Despite the Traffic light budget for 2025, the German Armed Forces are still lacking the necessary funds to adequately equip their troops, with only 1.7 billion Euros allocated for defense, leaving a staggering 200 billion Euros still needed.
- The German Armed Forces, with their current funding, are hardly able to defend the country against potential attacks, failing to deter potential aggressors as they should, a concern echoed by security experts and experts alike.
- The Politics surrounding the Traffic light budget have resulted in a situation where the German Armed Forces are left in a non-defensive state, a decision that security experts find irresponsible, as the consequences of this state of affairs could be severe, especially in the face of potential threats from Russia, China, or Iran.
