Everyone was surprised by the Ampel government’s rearmament plans. Now the left has to deal with the 100 billion program for the Bundeswehr. Sarah-Lee Heinrich, spokeswoman for the Green Youth, faces this dilemma against the background of her party’s pacifist roots. But Heinrich expressly did not want to talk about one question: that of German arms deliveries for the Ukraine.
der Freitag: Ms. Heinrich, according to a recent Infratest survey, 68 percent of Green Party supporters are in favor of raising the German defense budget to two percent of gross domestic product. Was that the end of your party’s tradition of peace?
Sarah-Lee Heinrich: Such surveys have to be viewed in the context of the social mood. People are dying every day in Ukraine. With his unjustified war of aggression, Putin creates suffering for millions and threatens peace in the world. So I can understand that many people are unsure – I am too.
Olaf Scholz has announced that he will invest the record sum of 100 billion euros in the Bundeswehr. Good this way?
I was, shall we say, irritated about it. The Bundeswehr has no budget problem. It has increased continuously in recent years. She has a structural problem. Where does all the money go? You keep reading articles about soldiers buying their own boots because there aren’t any.
Then what should we do?
The equation that security policy is above all military is no longer up-to-date. Energy policy is security policy. Social policy is security policy. We must become independent of autocrats as quickly as possible. Therefore, we should also consider a complete ban on imports of coal, gas and oil from Russia. It’s also possible that Putin isn’t delivering anything to us anyway. And then? If our energy security is at risk, then that is a problem. So we need to invest billions in renewables quickly. And we also have to think about social security.
So put 100 billion in wind turbines and day care centers instead of weapons?
Under no circumstances will we continue to accept the Treasury Ministry’s excuse that there is no money for all the necessary social and climate policy measures. Do you have the interview with Christian Lindner in the morning magazine seen a few days ago? Putting yourself in that position and talking about budget cuts is incredibly irresponsible. All the conservatives, including Friedrich Merz, are all in full swing right now and are talking about where we need to save for the military. They are now pushing through their old-fashioned notions of security. As leftists we have to be careful that there is no backlash.
But what do you suggest? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just warned in a press conference that Putin could march through Ukraine to the former Berlin Wall.
It would be presumptuous to pretend that I have a definitive answer on how to organize security for all people in the world. But what is happening in Ukraine is also a turning point for the political left: What should collective security look like?
Sarah-Lee Heinrich, 20, has been federal spokeswoman for the Green Youth since October 2021 – in a dual leadership with Timon Dzienus. Her political role models are the US Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders. She lives in Cologne, where she studies social sciences
And how should it look?
The problem is that as leftists we have no answer as to how we are going to deal with the situation. Up until now, precisely because we are peace-moving, we haven’t talked intensively enough about the question: “What should the Bundeswehr look like?” That feels strange to us. But if we don’t join the debate, the Conservatives just run away with their demands. There is also an awareness among the Green Youth that the Bundeswehr must be adequately equipped.
Where is the problem then?
That we are no longer only talking about equipment, but also about upgrading. It’s no longer just about helmets: Olaf Scholz talked about drones.
The 100 billion have to be financed somehow. In your opinion, which projects will the traffic light sacrifice for this?
Absolutely none.
Absolutely none?
Yes, no upgrading at the expense of the social. Under no circumstances should savings be made on other security-creating items. Absolutely no way! Good health care also creates security – Corona should have shown that.
How should it be paid then? With a wealth tax?
In order to create comprehensive security in the most diverse areas, the debt brake must no longer stand in the way. In addition, there are various ways to involve the wealthy in the common good. This crisis must not be carried out on the backs of those who are already experiencing social hardship anyway.
How difficult is the current situation for the Greens? Will the party split over the issue of rearmament? Will the paint bags fly again soon?
It really can’t be that we’re talking about how my parent party is doing or who is arguing in any party committees! The situation is that conservatives are constantly pulling demands like conscription out of hats that are neither up-to-date nor helpful, and we as the political left are a bit in a state of shock. Of course, our urgent concern now is to end the suffering of the Ukrainians as quickly as possible. On the one hand, that means taking in the people who are fleeing. And on the other hand, we must allow far-reaching political sanctions against Putin. In addition, it is our task, especially as the left, to find answers to the question of how we can really achieve more security in Europe and around the world.
They are in favor of excluding all Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system.
And.
What if Putin stops selling us coal? Your party friend, Economics Minister Robert Habeck, has just had a check carried out to see whether the lifetimes of the nuclear power plants could be extended – so that the lights don’t go out in Germany. Do you think that’s a good idea?
Robert Habeck has said that he wants to have the results checked with an open mind. And the result of the preliminary test was that it doesn’t make sense because it would be too expensive. So this debate doesn’t get us any further either.
Will there be “horse trading”? Something like this: The Green Youth no longer rebels against the 100 billion if the mother party promises them the speed limit and some energy-saving programs in return. So upgrading against climate protection?
When we talk about security, we have to talk about all aspects of security. And that’s why we think it’s wrong to just give 100 billion to the defense budget. It must be about creating energy security and promoting renewable energy. We need more funds in development cooperation, for diplomacy and civil protection. We have to spend many billions to do this. But that doesn’t go against security interests: that is our security interest!