Germany has reportedly scrapped plans to reintroduce military conscription to fill the depleted ranks of the Bundeswehr in favour of a voluntary plan featuring incentives to try to convince young people to sign up for the armed forces.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will not seek to reinstate conscription, despite previously arguing in favour of the measure, as the major European power continues to struggle to fill its ranks, with the Bundeswehr having around just 181,000 soldiers currently in service.
According to a report from Der Spiegel, Pistorius will instead seek to persuade young men to join the military on a voluntary basis through various incentive structures.
The leading German news magazine said that examples of such incentives could potentially include discounts on the repayment of student loans or language courses,
Pistorius will also reportedly look to introduce a medical examination questionnaire for all 18-year-olds to study their fitness to serve. While this would not come with an obligation to serve, the Defence Minister is said to believe that the process itself would raise interest in serving the armed forces among young people.
The decision to not reintroduce conscription comes despite warnings that Germany cannot currently defend itself against an enemy such as Russia, including from Pistorius, himself.
The President of the Reservist Association of the Bundeswehr Patrick Sensburg has also previously stated: “We believe that Germany is not capable of defence without conscription, in whatever form.”
There are growing concerns that Germany will fail to meet its goal of increasing the ranks of its military to 203,000 by 2031 amid sliding recruitment and according to Der Spiegel, there are also concerns that the number of troops will fall below the symbolic threshold of 180,000 when official numbers are released in June.
German military commissioner Eva Högl argued last month that the poor state of the military, in general, was contributing to the decline in recruitment, saying: “If you know that there is no WiFi in the barracks and that the showers are mouldy, then it is only of limited appeal to choose the Bundeswehr.”
Högl went on to claim that German soldiers have not seen a “single cent” of the 100 million euro special fund announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2022 intended to bring defence spending in line with the NATO requirement of 2 per cent of GDP.
Despite being the richest country in Europe, Germany has long failed to meet its NATO commitments, sparking criticism from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who branded Berlin as “delinquent” in its defence spending.
On top of the poor state of the military, there appears to be a general apathy towards national defence amongst the German people, with a survey from last October finding that just 11 per cent of the public would be willing to take up arms to defend their country if it was attacked. Conversely, a quarter said they would attempt to flee the country should war break out while a third said they would try to carry on their lives as normal.
The reported decision to scrap plans to reintroduce conscription in Germany comes as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the reintroduction of compulsory National Service a key pillar of his campaign for the July 4th general election campaign. The plan — though broadly popular — is not likely to come to fruition, however, given the opposition to it from the left-wing Labour Party, which is widely expected to win the election.
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