Overview
- Generalinspekteur Carsten Breuer says all young men in a cohort should be mustered so the Bundeswehr knows who is available in a crisis.
- Defense Minister Boris Pistorius backs selection by aptitude and motivation, rejects random draws, and aims to begin nationwide mustering from mid-2027.
- The new Wehrdienstgesetz is before the Bundestag with expert hearings due in November and a planned start date of January 1, initially relying on voluntary service.
- Surveys by Forsa and the ZDF-Politbarometer show large majorities consider a lottery for conscription unfair.
- Political positions remain split, with SPD’s Michael Ebling advocating an explicit service obligation for men and women and Green leader Julia Willie Hamburg calling a lottery arbitrary and opaque.