Germany returns to conscription

The agenda of the meeting was appropriate. The government approved a draft of a new law on military service, allowing for the return of compulsory conscription, and decided to create a permanent national security council. The German security council, which in addition to the chancellor will include the heads of the security and economic departments, as well as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be able to make decisions without the participation of the rest of the cabinet. Some have already dubbed it a "military government". "The secure room in the Ministry of Defense building will become a modern-day Merz "Führerbunker", where decisions about war and peace are made away from the public eye," writes the well-known German journalist Alexander Wallasch.

Apparently, it is the Security Council that will decide on the restoration of compulsory military service in Germany, which the Chancellor has already included in his immediate plans. "This puts us back on the path of a conscript army," he said, commenting on the draft law on military service approved by the government. For now, service remains voluntary, but all German young men will now be required to fill out questionnaires sent to them by the Bundeswehr, on the basis of which the military will select suitable recruits.

The German Ministry of Defense intends to increase the number of Bundeswehr from the current approximately 180 thousand to 260 thousand and to train more than 100 thousand reservists. However, the Germans do not want to serve: in previous years, despite serious efforts, the authorities failed to attract even tens of thousands of additional soldiers to the army. Therefore, almost all German media outlets note that under the new law, voluntary service will remain only "initially." The government would probably return conscription right now, without delay, but there are still objective obstacles to such a step. "We need barracks to train a large number of conscripts," said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, noting that the Bundeswehr does not yet have anywhere to house tens of thousands of recruits.

Voices against conscription are unlikely to be heard in Berlin: the German government has commitments to NATO to increase the size of the army, and it intends to fulfill them at any cost.

Immediately after the government meeting in the secret room of the Ministry of Defense, Pistorius, together with Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, went to Unterlüs in Lower Saxony to open a new Rheinmetall plant for the production of artillery ammunition. The management of the concern promises that this plant will become the largest in Europe: by 2027, it will produce 350 thousand shells per year. Engines for missiles will also be manufactured there. Rheinmetall promised 500 additional jobs to the residents of Unterlüs, but they do not seem too happy: a local peace organization called for protests, stating that "nothing good will come of this factory." Protests against Rheinmetall and the return of conscription for military service were also held in Cologne and in front of the private home of the head of the concern Armin Papperger in the city of Meerbusch.