Sometimes big changes are seen in small things. For example, a 30-second YouTube video, the first commercial for the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, in five years, posted in early August. In the first 17 seconds, you see uniformed soldiers in their daily lives: playing with children, buying a newspaper from a kiosk, walking around the city. Only in the last 13 seconds is the action-packed scene from the life of a soldier in the style of the movie “Top Gun” depicting fighter jets in dizzying flight maneuvers, warships on the high seas, soldiers disembarking from helicopters – and with the slogan: We defend Germany.

“Revival” of the Bundeswehr

World wars and two dictatorships in the 20th century created an atmosphere of deep distrust of all things military in Germany. The uniform has not yet become a part of everyday life on the street. The fact that uniformed soldiers are presented as completely normal can also be read as a sign of a tectonic shift. As a result of the war in Ukraine, Germany makes peace with the military – and prepares for future conflicts. Chancellor Olaf Soltz laid the groundwork three days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On February 27, in a remarkable keynote speech, the chancellor not only outlined a “tipping point,” but also concluded that the Bundeswehr, which had been neglected for decades, needed to be modernized. A special fund of 100 billion euros has been set up to finance emergency supplies. What was decided by NATO back in 2014 as a reaction to the Russian annexation of Crimea, investing at least 2% of GDP in equipment, should be set on a permanent basis. Which would make Germany’s military budget the largest in Europe. And the chancellor promised to protect every inch of NATO territory.

Six months later, American pundit Josef Braml told DW that “the word change caught the attention of Washington and the German government also reacted to it. What should have made the Americans particularly happy was that Germany was investing most of the special fund in Lockheed Martin and buying F35 fighters. This is a very expensive solution. So we’ve been technologically stable for decades, and also technologically dependent on America.”

“Drama” of the Greens

A three-party coalition government came to power only in December under the ambitious slogan “Dare more progress.” But since then, war and crises have forced politicians from the SPD, the Greens and the FDP to sacrifice an entire herd of sacred cows from party headquarters temples to the Realpolitik slaughterhouse. In particular, Robert Habek, the green minister for the economy and climate protection, must restart coal-fired power plants that were closed due to limited energy supplies from Russia. Breaking green taboos due to high CO2 emissions. In fact, the Green Vice Chancellor may even have to extend the operation of nuclear plants. The last three reactors are effectively to be shut down at the end of the year as part of a politically desirable phase-out of nuclear power, a matter close to the Greens’ hearts.

The SPD also expects from its members something unthinkable until recently. In a speech at the end of June, Lars Klingbeil, co-chairman of the SPD, not only laid out Germany’s claim to leadership in Europe, but openly admitted that “for me, peace politics also means considering military force as a legitimate political tool.” A difficult task for a party whose DNA The Greens, in particular, have strongly condemned the export of weapons to Saudi Arabia, for example, but now they are demanding that heavy weapons be brought to Ukraine as soon as possible. The powerful left wing of the Social Democratic Party continues to slow down the shipment of weapons to Ukraine. Political scientist Volker Kronenberg from Bonn believes that due to the historical turn, the usual political “arithmetic” is no longer valid – and at the same time the opportunity to launch something new.”This upheaval has created momentum with great scope for policy development. In such a sis moments means the hour of executive power,” Cronenberg told DW.

“New Germany” on a shaky foundation

Abroad, people rub their eyes in amazement. In mid-August, the British news magazine The Economist wrote on the front page about “New Germany”. He was depicted with a mighty eagle rising from an egg. “The Ukrainian war has shaken a self-satisfied Germany,” the Economist writes, hoping that “a stronger, bolder and more determined Germany will pave the way for a more united Europe.” According to political scientist Cronenberg, there are different expectations and perspectives abroad. In the USA or France, what has been achieved is positively recorded. That Germany is finally paying attention to needs and realities and finally abandoning this very subtle restraint when it comes to defense and security policy and taking reality seriously. However, Cronenberg also emphasizes “that people in Central and Eastern Europe would like to see more, and perhaps faster.” Under the magnifying glass of crises, the shortcomings of the past become all too obvious. The delay in digitalization makes business and management difficult. The current chronic unreliability of railways is just one example of the consequences of years of neglect of infrastructure. But first of all, it becomes clear how shaky the foundations of Germany’s prosperity are.

In a simplistic way, the business model of the past decades worked as follows: a large amount of cheap energy from Russia was converted as a raw material from China into high-quality products and exported mainly to China. China is Germany’s most important trading partner. Entire sectors of the economy depend on the Chinese market, supply chains of other industries depend on Chinese suppliers. One pillar of the system is already tottering: trade with Russia is heavily restricted by various EU sanctions packages, raw materials such as natural gas, oil and coal are flowing less and less to Germany. Before the war, the country imported more than half of its natural gas from Russia. Meanwhile, things are changing and savings are needed. The chancellor and finance minister are looking for new energy sources around the world, most recently in Canada. Politics, business and people are anxiously waiting for the coming winter, which will mercilessly show whether enough has been achieved and what is the degree of solidarity in Europe.

Source: DV