In a TikTok post on Oct. 21, German politician Sahra Wagenknecht condemned the German government’s plans to expand the armed forces by around 80,000 servicemembers. Some have proposed activating a lottery-based selection system if enough people do not volunteer. Compulsory conscription has been suspended since 2011 and is difficult to reintroduce, because the population widely oppose it.
Wagenknecht, a former Linke politician, who founded her own party, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, after profound disagreement with the Linke positions, including its joining the anti-Putin cabal, mocked the lottery idea: “Welcome to the war casino where the stakes are your life,” she proclaimed, criticizing the Merz government’s rhetoric that Germany is partly at war against Russia, and adding “I have to be honest, this is all just too much to handle. Maybe someone should explain to our great chancellor that Russia is a nuclear power and a war with a nuclear power will not be decided by the number of soldiers,” she said.
