In a poll conducted by the Forsa research company for the RTL/NTV television channels, 59 percent of respondents answered “probably not” or “definitely not” to a question about whether they would be ready to take up arms and defend Germany in the event of a military attack.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents answered that they were “definitely” or “probably” ready.
While 51 percent of respondents between the ages of 18-29 stated that they were “probably” or “definitely” not ready to take up arms to defend the country, this rate was 60 percent among those aged 30-44, 54 percent among those aged 45-59 and 62 percent among those over 60.
Sixty-one percent of Green Party supporters, 59 percent of Social Democratic Party (SPD) supporters, 55 percent of Alternative for Germany (AfD) supporters, 50 percent of Christian Union (CDU/CSU) supporters and 47 percent of Free Democratic Party (FDP) supporters said they were “probably” or “definitely” not ready to take up arms to defend the country.
Majority of Germans against sending troops to Ukraine
On the other hand, according to a poll conducted by YouGov for the German news agency DPA, 72 percent of Germans oppose sending troops to Ukraine and support German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Only 2 percent of respondents were in favor of Germany sending troops to Ukraine, while 16 percent wanted Germany to “leave open” the option of sending troops to Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Germany should increase defense spending and modernize the armed forces to be able to deal with new security challenges, “We have to get used to the idea that there may be a threat of war in Europe, and that means we have to be ready for war.”
For this, the German army needs not only weapons but also personnel.
In Germany, where compulsory military service was abolished in 2011, there are 181 thousand soldiers. The German government aims to increase this number to 203 thousand by 2031. Due to the aging population and the lack of qualified labor force in the country, there are difficulties in finding personnel to do military service and it is stated that the number targeted for 2031 will not be reached.
