Bold words apart Germany is tempting on the
historical pedestal of rearming once again like during the Nazi era. At that
time it was too crazy; every soul seeking war. Today it is different. While the
rulers want to rush into war, the public hesitates. More follows:
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is upbeat and
beats the drums of war with childish enthusiasm than any Chancellors before him
ever did. He is bent upon leading the transformation of peace loving nation of
Germany into a country whose Bundeswehr
was once condemned in the Nuremberg Trial as the chief villain responsible
for the horrendous destruction of life and property in Europe and elsewhere.
The German Chief of Defence, General Carsten
Breuer, while predicting that his country might be at war with Russia in the
next 2 to 3 years wishes the German public to be awakened to the idea of general
rearming. Expecting backlash from the public, he later toned down stating in
parley with British Chief of Defence, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, that
"rearmament is not
warmongering" but only a moral case due to the consequential Ukraine
war.
On the flip side there is a sense of aversion towards
rearming that prevails across the board in Germany. Even within the CSU/CDU coalition,
there is resentment towards militarisation. Alice Weidel of AfD is too vocal opposing any rearming for
war purposes against Russia or for that matter any other opponents is
not conducive towards peace & prosperity in the continent. She for one
believes that the Germany must compete in the geoeconomics sphere than in
military battle.
Surprisingly. within the Bundeswehr there is a tinge of opposition to take
part in military manoeuvres outside the German border. Recently it was
decided to send a token of military contingent to Lithuania which faces Belarus
on her border. Imagine the enthusiasm in the army circles. There was no appetite
for even voluntary detachment and the matter was dropped ASAP.
USA is washing off her hands in Ukraine in
particular and in Western European theatre in general. NATO is struggling to keep standing and before long it would
be gone. More poignant fact is that only 24% of Germans are ready to
stomach increase in defence expenditure, a figure down from 37% recorded previously.
An average German is least bothered about war breaking out between Germany and
Russia for that matter in any part of the Western Europe. He or she is too worried
about living standards, family life, housing & mortgage and educating
children. If there remains some savings an average German would embark on a tourism escapade rather
than getting into a battle wagon.
A divided house is the major stumbling block for
German rearmament. Hence, it behoves Chancellor Merz and his team to dwell more
on economics than military matters. Navigating strategy amid geoeconomics mandates that they simply do
that!
Cheers!
Muthu Ashraff Rajulu
Strategy Adviser
Mobile: + 94 777 265677
E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com
Blog: Strategy Adviser
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