German uniqueness. The Bundeswehr, a constitutional army

(BRUSSELS2) It seems difficult today to grasp the German attitude in terms of defence, which is marked by caution and which can be perceived as a certain wait-and-see attitude. To understand this attitude, we must also take into account some internal, political, situational (the presence of a pacifist FDP) and structural considerations. I'll give two...

A coalition to hue and dia

There is certainly a current political problem in Germany: the presence in the coalition of the Liberals. As a Frenchman living in Germany explained, the liberals of the FDP remained " more than 10 years without a government. They missed a few steps in the evolution of government. And adopted a hard pacifist line, harder than that of the Greens in a way. It feels like a return to the pacifist era of Genscher ". The arrival at the helm of a generation from East Germany is also a phenomenon that must be taken into account. There is also a non-interventionist German public.

And a big difference

Above all, there are strong conceptual differences between Germany and the other countries. " The Bundeswehr remains a parliamentary army, that's the big difference with France, the United States, the United Kingdom. A vote of the Bundestag is therefore necessary to send him on a mission outdoor explains a German general who knows France well. This is a fact of which there is little awareness in France where the Parliament called for help after four months of intervention. And, again, he speaks in a limited way. Even for quite obvious and urgent acts - which would not give rise to any discussion even in the most finicky countries of respect for elected representation - there is discussion in Germany. Thus the sending of Transall to Libya to repatriate the national citizens, gave rise to an appeal. " A party went to the Constitutional Court to have it noted that there was no referral ". And our general comments: You can like it or not, but you have to accept it. It is also an educational act: convincing an entire generation, an entire society, and in particular having the support of the German parliament is important even if it is not always obvious. ».

The way in which the French and the British managed the intervention in Libya is thus perceived in Berlin as a real coup de force: “ In an Alliance, things have to be discussed, there have to be consultations, a convergence of political ideas. The right to control planning is important. Parliament must feel that it is closely involved in the whole decision-making planning process."