Plans to re-introduce military service in Germany have been thrown into chaos because of an 11th hour row amongst the governing parties.
A compromise, which was set to include the possibility of some mandatory conscription, has been shot down.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he wants Germany to have the strongest conventional army in Europe.
But on Tuesday night, a press conference to announce the proposals was abruptly cancelled, ahead of a draft bill going before parliament on Thursday. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has denied accusations of torpedoing the plans.
Despite being the EU's largest economy, Germany's military has been poorly funded for decades following the end of the Cold War. Berlin is now rushing to boost spending and personnel, with warnings that members of the Western Nato alliance must prepare for a possible Russian attack within four years.
However, military service remains a politically sensitive issue. A significant section of German society remains deeply wary of conscription and re-armament given the catastrophic consequences of remilitarising in the 20th Century.
Nevertheless, a recent Forsa survey for Stern suggested that 54% of people favoured compulsory service while 41% opposed it. Opposition rose to 63% among 18 to 29-year-olds.
Germany wants to expand its armed forces from the current 183,000 active servicemen and women to 260,000 by 2035 – plus 200,000 reservists. Under draft plans announced this summer, 18-year-olds will be asked to fill out an online questionnaire about their background and willingness to serve for at least six months. It will be compulsory for men to fill out the questionnaire but optional for women.
The government, made up of Merz's conservative CDU/CSU and the centre-left Social Democrat SPD, agreed in their coalition treaty to reintroduce military service which would be voluntary 'to start with'. However, CDU politicians – including Chancellor Merz – have increasingly aired concerns that a purely voluntary system will not be sufficient.
This week, negotiators from the two coalition parties hammered out a complicated compromise which, according to German media, would have involved a multi-stage process. Details are not entirely clear but reports suggested that, if not enough school-leavers volunteered, then a lottery system could be used. A selection of young men could be summoned for a medical or even mandatory service, if required, should recruitment targets be missed.
However, there is resistance within the SPD's ranks to any form of compulsory service. SPD Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is strongly behind ambitions for a beefed-up military, but believes the latest plans are impractical.
Rather than a lottery, he has backed proposals for all eligible young men to undergo a medical from July 2027, so the Bundeswehr has a clear snapshot of available manpower. Pistorius has played down the political impasse and insisted that a new law will still be steered through in time for it to take effect from next year.
Germany's defence ministry faces a gargantuan logistical challenge in building the infrastructure that will be required to match its expanded military ambitions. Conscription was suspended in Germany in 2011. Young men were able to choose either to serve or, if they were conscientious objectors, opt for social work.
