German MPs rubberstamp military service plan amid school pupil protests | Germany

The German parliament has approved a new model of military service aimed at strengthening its armed forces, as thousands of students across the country demonstrated against the plans.

The change would include mandatory screening of all 18-year-old men starting Jan. 1 to gauge their suitability to serve in the military, but does not include conscription, as some conservative politicians prefer.

Defense minister Boris Pistorius told the Bundestag that if the model fails to attract sufficient numbers of troops, parliament will have to debate the reintroduction of conscription.

Students have missed classes to take part in climate protest-style “school strike” demonstrations against the law in 90 towns and cities, despite warnings from education authorities that the strike could affect their end-of-year grades.

Attending a demonstration in Kreuzberg, Berlin, 17-year-old Alicia said: “I am striking against conscription and opposing the rearmament that is taking place, especially because I think the government is not doing enough to secure the peace through diplomatic means.”

MPs have raised concerns that young people’s futures are being put at risk due to a push for everyone born in 2008 to join.

Siemtje Möller of the SPD, the junior partner in the coalition with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives, objected to what she called the “populist” message of the protest.

He said: “Today we are neither deciding that you will have to serve in the armed forces, nor will we draw lots to send you to Ukraine as cannon fodder. This is pure populism or complete nonsense.”

Möller expressed the sentiment that increased interest in the German armed forces in recent weeks would ensure that sufficient volunteers would be available to increase the numbers to 460,000, consisting of 260,000 active soldiers and 200,000 reservists.

Germany currently has 182,000 active soldiers and just under 50,000 reservists.

In 2011, under Angela Merkel’s government, Germany suspended its conscription program, which had been in place since 1956, in order to modernize it for the post-Cold War world; It was thought that the focus here would be on foreign missions requiring the skills of a professional military rather than the soldiers required to fight in the war.

Pistorius called the law “a critical step towards our ability to defend ourselves” and added: “Our allies are looking after us.”

The law was adopted by 323 votes to 272 with one abstention. Among those opposed were the far-right populist AfD and the far-left Die Linke.

Die Linke’s Desiree Backer urged young people to oppose the law, saying 18-year-olds would have to fill out a questionnaire and said it was “nothing but voluntary”. He also pointed out that ministers gave evasive answers when asked whether they were ready for their own children to be drafted into the military.

“Young people have other plans than risking their lives for the rich,” he said.

The AfD’s Rüdiger Lucassen criticized as “superficial” efforts to attract young people into military service by giving them significant pay rises and offering them benefits such as driving licenses and financing language lessons.

“Soldiers who come for pay do not have a solid basis for their service,” he said, calling for a nationalist-leaning military service in which young people would be driven to serve out of patriotism, not money.

“The German soldier must know what he is fighting for,” he said, arguing that soldiers should follow the centuries-old tradition of “fighting for their country, not for the government.”

Critics called Lucassen’s stance problematic because of his lack of reference to the atrocities committed by German soldiers during the Nazi period in this context.

The historic vote took place ahead of another important bill on German state pensions, which is also expected to have a significant impact on the lives of young Germans.

Merz had faced an unusual revolt within his own party from 18 younger MPs, who argued that the law, which would keep state pensions at 48 percent of average wages by 2031, would come at the expense of young people who would bear the brunt of demographic changes that mean fewer workers will be responsible for the pensions of the elderly.

The exciting vote was thought to be so tight that sick MPs and MPs with babies were persuaded to attend. Eventually the rebels were persuaded by the promise that a commission would prepare proposals for more far-reaching changes to the pension system starting next year. The vote was accepted with 319 votes in favour, 225 against and 53 abstentions.

The law also includes tax incentives for people to continue working in the workplace after retirement to cope with acute labor shortages.