Survey shows majority of Germans in favour of return to conscription
Thirty-six percent support conscription for both men and women, while 18 percent thought that only men should be called up, as was the case in the past.
Only 40 percent of the 2,212 responders believed that military service should remain voluntary. Six percent did not provide an answer.
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Compulsory military service in Germany was suspended after 55 years in 2011 by the then CDU/CSU and FDP coalition government because the "permanently changed security and defence policy situation" at that time could no longer justify the encroachment on people's fundamental rights.
However, in light of the growing threat from Russia, conscription is once again a hot topic.
Conscription for men is still enshrined in the country's basic law (
Grundgesetz
), but for this to be extended to women by way of an amendment, a two-thirds majority would be needed.
This means the CDU-SPD coalition would need the approval of the Greens and the Left Party. However, the Left Party is fundamentally opposed to conscription.
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Sixty-eight percent of CDU and CSU voters are in favour of reintroducing conscription, according to a YouGov survey. Among SPD voters, it's 64 percent, 55 percent of AfD supporters and 51 percent of Green Party voters.
But a majority of Left Party voters oppose compulsory military service – 69 percent support maintaining voluntary military service.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, older people are more likely to be in favour of conscription, the survey results showed.
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Only one in three (35 percent) in the 18-29 age group support it, but two-thirds of respondents over 70 (66 percent) are in favour.
In their coalition agreement, the CDU and SPD agreed on military service "that is initially based on voluntary service."
But defence minister Boris Pistorius later stated that the Bundeswehr needed to be expanded by 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers to meet the growing threat from Russia. Currently, there are just over 180,000.
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The CDU/CSU is now pushing for its coalition partner, the SPD, to make a quick decision on whether this troop strength can be achieved through voluntary military service alone.
"We don't have time to wait until doomsday," said Chancellor's Office Chief Thorsten Frei in an interview with the German Press Agency. The CDU-SPD coalition must make a clear agreement "on when we need to change our strategy so that we can achieve the goal that everyone recognises as necessary."
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