(new: details)
BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – CDU leader Friedrich Merz can get a lot out of the idea of a mandatory social year. “I don’t have a personal opinion yet, but my basic stance is more towards a mandatory year than on a voluntary basis,” said Merz, who is also chairman of the Union faction in the Bundestag, the German Press Agency in Berlin. “I’m surprised at how much approval there is, especially among the younger generation, for such a compulsory year in Germany.”
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann and Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (both FDP) immediately and strictly rejected a compulsory year for young people.
At the CDU party conference on September 9th and 10th in Hanover, there should be two applications for a so-called “Germany Year”. While one aims more at a mandatory year, the other pleads more for voluntariness in connection with incentives such as the crediting of pension points or relaxation of the numerus clausus. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier recently received a lot of criticism for a push for compulsory social time.
The 66-year-old Merz now emphasized that the feedback from school classes and visitor groups on the suggestion of a compulsory time was “positive across the board. But I also know the arguments that speak against it.” He was pleased that the Federal President had positioned himself so clearly. “Now we’re discussing it. If there are other opinions, all the better. Then we’ll have an interesting political debate.”
Merz rejected the argument that many young people had to cope with many cuts in the corona pandemic, so they should not be burdened with an additional compulsory year. With the closure of schools and universities, the goal was probably overshot. “Looking back, we have to say that politicians made a lot of mistakes, especially with regard to the younger generation.” “But this could not be the benchmark for such a fundamental decision. When it comes to compulsory service, we are looking at the next 10, 20, 30 years.”
Minister of Justice Buschmann called the encroachment on freedom associated with a compulsory year unjustified. “Young people must be able to decide freely about their future. A #mandatory year doesn’t fit in with the times either. We suffer from a shortage of skilled workers everywhere,” he wrote on Twitter. Minister of Education Stark-Watzinger emphasized that young people expect politics to promote educational equity, create opportunities for advancement and reward voluntary commitment. “That should be our joint effort – not the same debates about more coercion,” she said on Twitter.
The parliamentary director of the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Stephan Thomae, also warned that a compulsory social year would keep young people away from training and starting a career. “Instead, better incentives for federal voluntary service should be introduced.”
With a view to the party’s controversial women’s quota, which is also to be decided in Hanover, Merz was confident that the topic would not overshadow the party congress. The quota is rejected by the Junge Union (JU), especially in the business wing and by the younger generation of the party. In order to accommodate the opponents, Merz has proposed a time limit.
The CDU leader said he saw a lot of good will from the entire party to decide on this issue now and to assess it realistically. “The debate on quotas is a party-political, internal issue within the CDU that needs to be resolved. But that is certainly not the issue that interests the majority of the population in Germany the most,” he emphasized. In view of the upcoming secret vote of the 1001 delegates on the quota, Merz said: “I’m not afraid of defeat, nor am I preparing for a victory to be celebrated.”
According to Merz, CSU boss Markus Söder has been invited to Hanover for a greeting. “It goes without saying that the two party leaders have the opportunity to appear at each other’s party conferences at any time.” When asked how he would describe his relationship with Söder in one sentence, Merz said: “Collegial, friendly and very cooperative.” Before the federal election last year, there was a serious rift between the then CDU chairman Armin Laschet and Söder over the Union’s chancellor candidacy./bk/DP/nas