(de-news.net) – Former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Hans-Peter Bartels (SPD), as well as the head of the German Reservists, Prof. Patrick Sensburg, support the reintroduction of conscription, while the vice-chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Johann Wadephul, sees this model as a viable eventuality. In contrast, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil advocates a consistent voluntary military service, as mentioned in the black-red coalition agreement.
The peace dividend and a volunteer army are no longer appropriate, said former Parliamentary Commissioner Bartels, according to a media report. “Without the revival of conscription in an adapted form,” the Bundeswehr cannot become larger and more operationally ready.
The CDU/CSU would have preferred immediate conscription to ensure the military training of at least 100,000 additional personnel within four years, said CDU politician Wadephul, according to media reports. Now one will begin with a voluntary approach that ought to be rendered attractive. Over the course of the legislative period, it will be necessary to continually “examine whether the Bundeswehr has sufficient personnel and, if necessary, to switch to conscription models,” explained Wadephul, who is responsible for foreign affairs and defense, among other things, in the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. The coalition agreed to seriously consider voluntary service, Wadephul continued, with the Bundeswehr offering numerous incentives such as obtaining a driver’s license, professional qualifications, and leadership training. The president of the German Reservist Association, Sensburg, explained in a radio report that he believed the only way to actually increase troop strength was to reintroduce conscription.
SPD Chairman Klingbeil, meanwhile, rejected calls for mandatory military service. The Bundeswehr’s attractiveness must be increased, Klingbeil emphasized. He expressed confidence that a more attractive military service would attract sufficient volunteers. The SPD leader also cited the possibility of obtaining a driver’s license free of charge from the Bundeswehr as an example.
In view of the Bundeswehr’s personnel shortage and the call for greater defense capabilities, the CDU/CSU and the SPD agreed in their coalition agreement on what they called a “new, attractive military service,” which, however, would initially be based on voluntary service. Both Union parties, on the other hand, had originally demanded a return to conscription.
