SPD rules out negotiations on conscription

Berlin – Even after Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that the Bundeswehr needed 60,000 additional soldiers, SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch categorically rejected calls for a return to conscription. "The coalition agreement clearly states that we rely on voluntary service," Miersch told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" (Saturday edition). "Conscription can then be negotiated in the next legislative period, if necessary, but not in this one." Even without coercion, the goal of 60,000 additional soldiers "can, in my opinion, be achieved in the medium term," Miersch continued. "Currently, there are nowhere near sufficient training capacities available." The key question is how to ensure that the service becomes attractive, said the SPD parliamentary group leader. "That was not possible simply because of the lack of equipment. Boris Pistorius can now invest and appeal to young people in a different way," Miersch said. "We will now wait and see how the Minister of Defense's concept for a voluntary troop increase takes off."