German conscription may be back

German Chancellor Angel aM erk el’ spar ty is considering reintroducing civilian or military national service for young people.

Germany dropped military conscription in 2011. It was one of many tenets of conservative orthodoxy brushed aside under Mrs Merkel – a trend that has irked some on the right of her party.

The new general secre - tar yo ft he Christian Democratic Union, Ann egret Kramp-karrenbauer, said over the weekend that she wants to discuss a vague - ly defined “general service obligation” as a possible plank of a future party platform. She left open whether it should be compulsory.