A week after Ursula von der Leyen's harsh protest over the growth restrictions the German Defense Ministry is expected to face in the coming years, Budget Minister Olaf Scholz suggested that tax revenues additional income generated by Germany's renewed growth, could be attributed, in part, to this ministry.
This solution has the merit of satisfying both fans of the budgetary rigor of the SPD and the strategic ambitions of Me Merkel's CDU for a militarily strong Germany.
However, with a budget of €38,5 billion in 2018, the German Ministry of the Armed Forces is far from being destitute, even if this only represents 1,2% of the country's GDP. Without an in-depth reform of the functioning, acquisition procedures, and operational objectives of the German armies, the extension of the budget will not resolve the catastrophic operational state of the German forces.
This risks quickly agreeing with the opponents of a militarily strong Germany; opponents who are also very Atlanticist and unfavorable to Franco-German initiatives in terms of Defense and industrial collaboration, considered costly, risky, and useless in relation to existing US protection...
