Kretschmer calls for citizen participation: military service debate needs her voice!

Kretschmer calls for citizen participation: military service debate needs her voice!

Michael Kretschmer, Prime Minister of Saxony (CDU), has called for a stronger involvement of the population in the ongoing debate about military service. He criticized the fact that the discussion "over the minds of young people and the parents" would be led. Kretschmer suggests setting up a representative citizens' council in order to promote citizen participation. Alternatively, he could also imagine referendums at the federal level in order to capture the opinions of the citizens and to involve political decision -making. [T-online] reports that in the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD, a military service model based on voluntary nature was agreed, with the intention of creating the prerequisites for military recording and military monitoring this year. In addition, compulsory military service in Germany was suspended.

Kretschmer emphasizes the importance of giving the citizens a voice, especially with such a decisive topic as military service. The previous practice failed to include the general public in a constructive dialogue, which could lead to dissatisfaction and uncertainty. The Prime Minister refers to past experiences with citizens' councils that have existed in Germany for over 50 years. These bodies are made up of randomly selected citizens to give political recommendations that reflect the diversity of society. [Blick] emphasizes that a citizens' council was recently used in the Bundestag on the subject of “nutrition in change”, which has developed nine recommendations.

experiences with citizen councils

The idea of ​​the citizens' council has recorded speed in recent years. [Tagesschau] informs that the number of citizens' councils rose from an average of six per year between 2010 and 2019 to almost 30 per year between 2020 and 2023. 80% of these committees take place at the local level. The members of the citizens 'councils are selected by a lottery procedure from residents' registers in order to also achieve politically underrepresented groups. An important goal is to develop practical advice on political decisions and thus create a broader opinion of opinion.

The concept of citizens' councils also includes important aspects such as support for childcare, accessibility and the assumption of costs for the participants. These measures are intended to ensure that all interested citizens have the opportunity to get involved. The procedure of a citizens' council includes several steps: from the topic of the subject to the information transfer by experts to the development of recommendations for action, which are then handed over to the local council or the parliament.