(Adnkronos) – German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius reiterated his intention to regulate the issue of conscription through a law, while stressing that the army should primarily rely on volunteers. Speaking to Dpa a few hours before the start of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) congress, which will also discuss this issue, Pistorius stressed that his views on the matter differ from those of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).
“I do not explicitly share the demands of the CDU/CSU, which wants to move to mandatory conscription as quickly as possible,” Pistorius said. Recruiting soldiers through compulsory conscription is not even feasible, he noted, because barracks and training camps are currently lacking, although more infrastructure is being built than in previous years, he added. For the time being, the number of volunteers would be sufficient.
But Pistorius also said he disagreed with those who reject mandatory conscription. “I also oppose those who believe that any form of obligation should be excluded,” added the Social Democratic minister, for whom it is currently impossible to calculate with certainty when it might be necessary to introduce mandatory conscription. “The decisive factor is that the mechanism is enshrined in law,” he said. “From the outset, it was important to me not to introduce the obligation lightly, and certainly not unilaterally. The bill therefore provides that such a step requires the approval of both the Government and the Bundestag.”
