Social Democracy | SPD Party Congress: Only a few against NATO's armament goal

After the publication of the manifesto of the SPD's "Peace Circles," how to end and prevent wars was, as expected, a topic at the federal party conference in Berlin. Conscription was also a controversial topic there. The Young Socialists (Jusos) had called on Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to drop the option of reactivating compulsory service in a draft bill. However, their proposal was completely watered down after negotiations with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius .

Members of the SPD's Erhard Eppler Circle, led by Bundestag member Ralf Stegner , submitted a motion to the party conference urging the party to oppose NATO's goal, adopted last week with the votes of the German government, of permanently increasing member states' defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product . Stegner pointed out at the party conference that this would currently mean spending €225 billion annually on armaments – out of a total federal budget of €477 billion.

The motion states: "We oppose limiting the future capacity of the federal government and the budgetary sovereignty of the Bundestag to such an extent through NATO commitments." Before making any decisions on defense spending, a public debate is needed that is "necessary and sensible." It makes no sense, they argue, if these are based on GDP "instead of potential threats." Debt-financed rearmament also ties up resources needed to manage crises and shape the future.

The motion was rejected by a clear majority of 65 percent. The majority at the party conference appears to reflect that of the general population of Germany. According to statistics published this weekend by the ZDF Politbarometer, 65 percent of citizens support NATO's five percent target. Among SPD supporters, the figure is as high as 71 percent, and even among Left Party voters, it's still 41 percent.

In the debate before the vote, Bundestag member Nina Scheer complained that the "five percent dictate" was "the opposite of peace policy." Rapidly rising military spending was hindering urgently needed spending on climate protection, said Scheer, who was one of the 100 initial signatories of the manifesto. Delegate Klaus Bartel from Bavaria said it was already clear that the budget would not contain sufficient funds for the promised climate money to offset the rising _CO2 price and to reduce the electricity tax.

Lothar Binding, a member of the Bundestag from 1998 to 2021, accused the German government of agreeing to the five percent because of a "snap of the fingers" by US President Donald Trump and not because the money was truly needed. Former EU MP Joachim Schuster called the NATO decision "disturbing, alienating, and irritating." He said it would trigger "a gigantic arms race" because Russia and China would then also arm themselves.

Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius personally intervened in the debate. He emphasized that the five percent target is based on the "actual threat situation" and the "capability targets for effective deterrence" agreed upon within NATO. Pistorius also pointed out that the NATO resolution for 2029 includes a "revision clause." Then, it will be reviewed whether defense resources at this level are still necessary in light of the current situation. The minister also promised that the German government will continue to advocate for diplomacy and disarmament through all means possible.

In their speeches, the re-elected party leader Lars Klingbeil and former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, like Pistorius, pointed out that everything had been done to achieve peace in Ukraine through diplomatic means, but that Russian President Vladimir Putin had never been prepared to make concessions.

Bremen City Council member Arno Gottschalk nevertheless considers the vote a respectable success. A significant minority supported the motion against the five percent target. "The resistance is impressive and encouraging. Even now, when the consequences of this drastic arms buildup are not yet apparent," Gottschalk wrote on X.

Beyond that, some delegates also protested against the rearmament course with a satirical performance on Friday evening: The men and women marched through the hall rows wearing "Pickelhaube" headbands and glued-on mustaches, saluting. Their T-shirts bore the demand "Disarmament! Sometime is now!"

Conscription: okay after all

On Saturday, representatives of the federal government once again succeeded in comprehensively containing the opposition of the party's younger members to the plans to reactivate conscription: The Young Socialists (Jusos) amended an initiative proposal that would have generally rejected the inclusion of compulsory military service in a planned bill. The now adopted text, however, states: "We do not want any legally activatable option for conscripts before all measures for voluntary increases have been exhausted. We want to enable measures for the conscription, registration, and military monitoring of young men liable for military service." When "all measures" have been exhausted is a term open to interpretation. In terms of content, the statement in the paper is similar to the agreements in the coalition agreement with the CDU and CSU on the subject.

Juso leader Philipp Türmer said that after "hours of negotiations" with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, he had agreed on the now-adopted text, according to which the SPD continues to rely on voluntary participation. They trust young people "to want to take on responsibility" – even without conscription. Both he and Pistorius had "had to make a lot of adjustments," Türmer said.

The text also mentions the Swedish military service model. Pistorius had already adopted this model during the time of the traffic light coalition and presented a concept for it. According to the Defense Minister, the Bundeswehr needs at least 60,000 additional soldiers and a total of 200,000 reservists. The paper adopted by the party conference acknowledges that, given the security situation and the "expectations of allies," this exact level of personnel is necessary.

The president of the German Reservists' Association, Patrick Sensburg, nevertheless strongly criticized the resolution. "This is a rejection of conscription in this legislative period with the SPD," he told the "Rheinische Post." The wording in the document is "the final nail in the coffin for our defense capabilities."