The threat of war may not be imminent, but it is not impossible.” These unequivocal words spoken by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, give a good account of the drums of war that resonate in the Old Continent. The former German Defense Minister has asked that Europe “take a step forward” in a context in which the risk of Vladimir Putin attacking an ally to test NATO continues to grow. Beyond the increase in investment, European partners are strengthening their armies. Germany praises the Swedish recruitment model. Could Spain consider recovering the military?
Last January marked 22 years since the abolition of compulsory military service in Spain, thanks to a demand from former president Jordi Pujol to the government of José María Aznar. At the beginning of the century, according to a CIS study, 26% of Spaniards were clear “with complete certainty” that they would not voluntarily participate in the defense of the country. In 2017, the figure rose to 40%. Since then, the matter has not been asked again.
Félix Arteaga, senior researcher in Security and Defense at the Elcano Royal Institute, explains that it is logical that Nordic countries with a small population maintain the mandatory recruitment system because in the face of the Russian threat, soldiers are needed to deploy on the ground. But there is no troop deficit here. In fact, in the processes of access to the Armed Forces the cut-off marks do not stop rising: there is more demand than supply.
However, as Arteaga points out, Spain could encounter difficulties when it comes to filling much more professional positions. In terms of cybersecurity, where all experts point out as an emerging battlefield. The Ministry of Defense continues to have the pending issue of increasing the salaries of uniformed personnel, so competing with private companies for these profiles is highly complicated.
General Fernando Alejandre, former chief of the Defense Staff between 2017 and 2020, confesses in a telephone conversation that he does not believe a return to massive compulsory military service is feasible, despite the fact that the war in Ukraine has highlighted the great differences between a country –Russia– that maintains it, compared to the Ukrainian model that does not contemplate it. In Europe there are eleven countries that maintain it, but with different peculiarities. The former Jemad Alejandre includes in his book King served and homeland honored as most of the states that preserve it do so as an element of “national cohesion”, but not for a real recruitment of the Armed Forces.
In the ministry led by Margarita Robles they are not even considering opening the debate in Spain about the return of the military. A new front “unnecessary now” that would generate great unpopularity. According to ministerial sources, they see the German position as a simple wake-up call given its shortage of reservists.
Furthermore, a legislative reform of such significance would not be exclusive to this department, but they point, in any case, to the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who in a television interview admitted that for him, “honestly”, the military was a great waste of time".
