Hoekstra wants to reintroduce conscription
CDA leader Wopke Hoekstra wants to reintroduce conscription in the Netherlands. Even though conscription was abolished over 25 years ago, Hoekstra wants, given the fact of the Ukraine war and the shortage of personnel in the Dutch army, over 200,000 young people to join armed forces or opt for social service in the future, De Telegraaf reported.
Het is tijd voor de herinvoering van de dienstplicht.
— Wopke Hoekstra (@WBHoekstra) February 4, 2023
De oorlog in Oekraïne toont dat veiligheid, democratie en een sterke samenleving niet gratis zijn.
Het dienstjaar versterkt onze weerbaarheid, samenleving en eenheid.
Daar wordt Nederland beter van. https://t.co/oEiwmNUou9
The CDA's stance on reintroducing conscription has been known for some time. But now Hoekstra is convinced to "go a step further" in view of the situation in Ukraine and the dwindling solidarity in the Netherlands, Dagblad van het Noorden wrote.
Therefore, Hoekstra will argue for the reintroduction of conscription at the CDA election congress in Amersfoort on Saturday. The young people “can spend six months or a year on strengthening our armed forces and national security, or on a social task, such as care and welfare," Hoekstra explained, De Telegraaf reported.
According to the CDA Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the war in Ukraine “has forced us to face the facts”. "Security, democracy and a strong society are not free, that is a hard lesson," said Hoekstra, wrote the newspaper.