According to a recent survey, there is no majority in the population in Germany for general conscription for men and women. In the survey by the opinion research institute Kantar, 46 percent of those questioned spoke out in favor, 50 percent against, as the organization Greenpeace announced as the client.
In the east, approval was lower than in the west. Greenpeace wanted to get an opinion before the Munich Security Conference.
However, in the group of people under the age of 29, there was a majority (Yes: 58 percent) in favor of general conscription. Approval was therefore given by supporters of the FDP (69 percent), the Union (58 percent), the SPD (55 percent) and just under the AfD (50 percent), while supporters of the Greens and Left were mostly against. When asked “Would you like to do military service personally?” 55 percent of young men under the age of 30 answered yes, while women in the same age group answered no at 67 percent.
No majority for military leadership
Politically, a majority of respondents spoke out in favor of a diplomatic leadership role for Germany in the EU (yes: 75 percent, no: 22 percent). When asked about a military leadership role, only 31 percent answered yes, but 64 percent no.
When asked whether the Bundeswehr should receive a further 200 billion euros in addition to the regular Bundeswehr budget and the 100 billion euro special fund, 43 percent said yes, but 48 percent no. There was no majority for an increase in the Bundeswehr budget through debt or tax increases. Above all, however, it was expected (66 percent) that higher spending for the Bundeswehr would lead to cuts in other areas such as climate protection or social affairs.
“The results show that people in Germany are skeptical about the focus on military dominance,” says Thomas Breuer, head of peace at Greenpeace Germany, “instead they want Germany to play a diplomatic leadership role.” Greenpeace opposes investing further extra funds in the Bundeswehr after the special fund. Otherwise, this money would be missing for other important areas such as climate protection.
