Scholz, for his part, said he was certain of Pistorius’s “loyalty” in an interview with German daily Welt on Tuesday. “I also say quite clearly that the SPD and I want to win the next election together.”
Making Germany ‘fit for war?’
Scholz selected Pistorius to become his defense minister in January 2023, nearly a year after Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. At the time, the selection befuddled many observers since Pistorius had no national leadership experience; his previous post was minister for the interior and sport for the German state of Lower Saxony.
Pistorius has since grown into the country’s most popular politician, however, by arguing that Germany’s military, the Bundeswehr, needs robust investment after decades of post-Cold War disarmament. The goal, he has often said, is to make the German military “fit for war.” Pistorius has also spearheaded a new recruitment effort, based on a volunteer model, in an effort to bolster Germany’s depleted military ranks.
Pistorius’s tinkering has extended deep into Germany’s military structure. Earlier this year, he signed a decree restructuring the military with a new focus on territorial defense rather than on occasional foreign forays.
Just years ago, many voters would have rejected Pistorius’s talk of war readiness as militaristic. But Russia’s war on Ukraine has changed minds in Germany, and polls show most Germans favor more investment in their military.
Pistorius has also quickly built up his international credentials. His frequent calls for Berlin to meet or exceed NATO’s two-percent-of-GDP spending target have won him many fans among Western allies who have long urged German leaders to invest more in their military.
