German
Bundestag, September 30, 2020, Plenarprotokoll 19/179, p. 22583.
Frau
President. Right honorable members.
Who
wishes to be a constitution patriot, as the CDU claims to be, should for once
read the constitution. In case the Union should still be interested in the Bundeswehr,
I recommend Article 87a:
The Federation shall establish armed
forces for purposes of defense.
The
CDU’s 15 year administration of the Bundeswehr has made of this article a
hollow phrase. The Bundeswehr can no longer fulfill its duty to defend the
states and the Federal union. This situation is generally acknowledged by the
parties. The AfD, however, is the only party which will not accept that.
The
Federal government has failed in all core areas of defense policy.
Henning Otte (CDU/CSU): Where do you
get the proof? That is rubbish!
Seven
years ago, Frau Kramp-Karrenbauer’s predecessor began proclaiming trend
changes; you remember. The present minister today plainly avoids this term like
the devil does holy water: Understandably, since nothing has worked. The
procurement system is, as before, dysfunctional. All follow-on procurement is
stuck somewhere between dreamland and reality loss.
Let
us take the Future Combat Air System: France and Germany have completely
different roles for their future fighter jets. Already since the Eurofighter,
the European aerospace industry has lost contact with the development. I prophesy
to you: The FCAS will be a grave for billions without one aircraft ever
attaining mission readiness.
The Main Ground Combat System: Again German-French and again to the considerable disadvantage of the respective defense industry. For 80 years is German tank production a leader in the world market. Now this key technology will be given away to France, with an utterly unknown end result. The drama of that is: What is from Germany once gone, never again comes back. The Federal government’s armament policy is permanently demolishing German industrial proficiency.
Henning Otte (CDU/CSU): My goodness!
This
formula of failure also goes for the development of armed drones, for the
digitalization of the armed forces and much more. The heavy transport helicopter
was as of yesterday officially renounced, just as was the successor to the
Tornado.
Henning Otte (CDU/CSU): The AfD
failed in Lower Saxony!
The
next major area: Personnel. On the average, 15,000 soldiers are lacking. That is
the size of an entire division. However much the BMVg [defense ministry]
leadership may trouble itself to convey to outsiders its modern, gender-neutral
and diverse image, simply not enough young Germans want the Bundeswehr. Despite
that, the BMVg holds fast to this infantile image campaign. The ship of fools sails
stubbornly on.
The
BMVg, however, in other areas is as busy as a bee. The gender of the service
grades was a major theme. As it was clear that our female soldiers were
unwilling to be addressed as “Frau
Oberfeldwebelin” or “Frau Hauptfrau”,
the Defense Minister withdrew. Project “Gender Justice” was stopped, for the
time being. Yet I can prophesy to the soldiers that, from them, this chalice
has not yet been passed.
Henning Otte (CDU/CSU): Hohmann
would have said it!
If
next year it in fact comes to a black-green coalition, the Bundeswehr will be as
thoroughly gendered as an edition of the “taz’.
Tobias Lindner (Greens): You are
worried about that! That is clear!
That
would nevertheless be the least of problems. The Federal government’s
incompetence in defense policy cannot be compensated for by the good 46 billion
euros in Section 14. As before, the AfD stands for an increase in the defense
estimate; since the damages inflicted on the Bundeswehr by the government are
immense. The repair may cost much money. Just so, it is right to ask what the
Grand Coalition is doing with all the money. I say: The Federal government
deals with the citizens’ tax money just as irresponsibly as it does with the
Bundeswehr itself. Over 46 billion euros for the Bundeswehr: The entire result
is simply a disgrace.
Ladies
and gentlemen, who is unwilling to accept the system of the armed forces is
unsuitable for the orderly leadership of the Bundeswehr.
Henning Otte (CDU/CSU): Herr Hohmann
would have said it!
A
state does not maintain armed forces to bore a well somewhere or lead a grandma
across the street. Armed forces must be willing and be in a position to employ
deadly, military violence. For that, the Bundeswehr requires esprit de corps,
pride and a unique vocational ethic – period – and nothing more.
Thanks.
[trans: tem]
