CNN
Germany wants to build Europe’s strongest army – a new conscription bill is moving that closer
This year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged to build Europe’s strongest army – a tall order for a country whose military has undergone years of neglect.
The coalition government is hoping a new bill agreed upon last week will help make this a reality, bolstering Germany’s forces in the face of the perceived threat from Russia and a significant shift in US foreign policy.
The sweeping new reforms will see Germany attempt to boost its numbers to 260,000 soldiers, up from around 180,000 currently, in addition to an extra 200,000 reservists, by 2035.
Minna Ålander, an associate fellow in the Europe Program at London-based think tank Chatham House, believes Germany has the potential to play a key role in conventional defense of Europe, given its central geographical location.
Ålander believes however that achieving the quotas without resorting to mandatory call-ups is not unrealistic, given the size of Germany’s population.
she added, “My concern is that if an obligatory military service is imposed on a skeptical population, it could push more young people to the extreme right and extreme left.”
This result has sparked widespread debate, with many questioning what has fuelled this rise – the war in Ukraine, the cost-of-living crisis or a broader sense of disenfranchisement? One major factor that has come under scrutiny is demographics. Many blame younger voters for the decline in support for mainstream parties, with just one in four (25%) of 18-24 year-olds voting for the two parties that are now set to form the next government, and voters in the 30-44 age bracket contributing the highest share of votes to the far-right at 26%.
But is it really about age – or is there more going on?
Gender and education levels are much more important than age
While many have focused on age as a dividing line in this vote, it is important to note that a higher proportion of 18-24 year olds (25%) voted for Die Linke (Left Party) than for the AfD (21%). And both gender and education levels are much stronger indicators of voting behaviour than age. Men were 41% more likely to vote for the AfD than women.
A time of disillusionment
One of the more unexpected and underreported trends in this election was the movement of over 100,000 voters from the far-left Die Linke (Left Party) to the far-right AfD. So to what extent are people voting based on policies and politics, and to what extent is a broader sense of disenfranchisement and frustration with the political system driving voting patterns? Many of these voters may be casting a “veto vote,” driven by dissatisfaction with the status quo rather than wholehearted support for the far-right’s agenda.