2024-04-30 19:13:53
Boris Pistorius is putting pressure on compulsory military service. There will be a plan in May, he says at “Maischberger”. He has a clear opinion about an attack on Moscow.
The reintroduction of compulsory military service could happen faster than expected. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) had originally announced a decision by the summer. At “Maischberger” on Wednesday evening he said: “I think I will come out with a concrete proposal in May.”
- Boris Pistorius (SPD), Defense Minister
- Elmar Theveßen, USA correspondent for ZDF
- Mariam Lau, political journalist “Die Zeit”
- Stephan Stuchlik, ARD capital correspondent
- Urban Priol, cabaret artist
At the beginning of the week, Pistorius had his staff make suggestions to him about what it might look like if conscription was reinstated. “There was something useful,” he said on the “Maischberger” program. The Defense Minister makes it clear that he will not be bothered by resistance from his own party: “I have a clear plan in mind.”
“Maischberger”: “This is important for survival”
Pistorius does not want to expand the Bundeswehr with conscripts. But a combat-ready army needs reservists who can be available in an emergency. “This is essential for survival,” emphasized the Social Democrat, referring to the deployment of such soldiers in Ukraine or Israel.
But could he convince skeptics like Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) or SPD leader Saskia Esken? asked Maischberger. “Everyone has to ask themselves what they want in the end,” Pistorius replied. Democracy must be defended externally – and internally: “Society has to want that.”
What Pistorius is demanding when it comes to the debt brake is also clear. Regarding Lindner’s idea of being able to free up billions for defense in the budget, he said: “I’m looking forward to the proposals. I don’t see that happening.” And Pistorius made it clear on the ARD talk show how far he would push the conflict with Lindner.
Pistorius warns Lindner: “Of course I have a pain limit”
When Maischberger asked where his pain threshold was before he would quit the job, Pistorius initially evaded it. But when the moderator asked whether there was even a pain threshold, he made it clear: “Yes, I have one. Of course I do.”
It became unusually quiet in the studio when Maischberger asked why Germany would not supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles. “It stays that way,” Pistorius confirmed at the beginning. The moderator wanted to know: Is the stubborn no because Germany, as a nation without nuclear weapons, is dependent on Taurus protection? That’s just one reason, replied Pistorius. “The crucial reasons lie deeper,” he added, letting the silence that followed resonate.
“How defenseless are we without Taurus?” Maischberger asked. When it comes to national security, he doesn’t make secret things public, replied Pistorius. But he emphasized: “For me, this is also part of the mindset at the turn of the times. We still act as if we were living in times of peace.”
Maischberger: Attack on Moscow legitimate?
The Defense Minister was also clear and secretive at the same time when it came to potential attacks by Ukraine on Moscow. “International law allows this,” said Pistorius. But the question is which weapons would be used to do this. In the end, it is up to Ukraine to decide “to what level of escalation of the war” such an attack could lead.