As seismic geopolitical shifts unfold and Europe’s dependence on the U.S. for security grows increasingly uncertain, the right-wing, anti-globalist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is urging Germany to develop its own nuclear arsenal and reinstate universal military conscription—including for women.
Speaking to the German news outlet T-Online in an interview on Thursday, March 6th, AfD MP Rüdiger Lucassen, a former Bundeswehr colonel who serves as the party’s chief defense expert, argued that Germany can no longer depend on Washington’s nuclear shield to ensure it’s security.
“If the U.S. steps back, Europe must step up,” Lucassen stated, calling for an independent European security structure with Germany at its core. “We need our own nuclear deterrent, a European command structure, and a military capable of defending itself. That means changing the Basic Law—fast.”
While clarifying that he isn’t suggesting some kind of Russian attack is imminent, Lucassen said it was nevertheless a possibility that responsible German leaders ought to prepare for. The former Bundeswehr colonel’s concerns were echoed by Hannes Gnauk, another member of AfD’s faction in the German Bundestag, who has also called for Germany to develop its own nuclear weapons stockpile.
Gnauk’s take on Russia and its proper relationship to Germany is slightly different from the former colonel’s, however, as he advocates for pragmatic economic ties while acknowledging that Moscow is neither a friend nor an enemy.
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