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Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD)
Photo: IMAGO/Ruslan Kaniuka / IMAGO/Ukrinform
The traffic light has only just cleared the discussion about a possible pension from 70, when Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser brings an earlier retirement into play.
For longtime volunteers.
The SPD politician suggested on Tuesday evening in Potsdam at the series of events “RND on site” organized by the editorial network Germany that anyone who has provided such service to the population throughout their lives could, for example, retire a year earlier.
Faeser acknowledged the voluntary commitment of people in fire brigades and rescue services, but also warned that at some point they might no longer be able to cope with the tasks.
That's why the debate about a compulsory social year makes sense, said Faeser.
Faeser described the chances of finding a political majority for this as “rather manageable at the moment”.
But she explained: “But I think we have to keep discussing that too.” For the minister, the target group for this are young people: “You will have to start with the young.”
»Germany was privileged for decades«
The situation has changed, said Faeser.
“Natural disasters are increasing.
Germany was privileged for decades.« However, a change has now become noticeable in recent years, with increased flooding, forest fires, long periods of drought, as well as storms and hurricanes.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier relaunched an old discussion in June.
He advocated that young people in Germany should serve a compulsory social service.
That does not have to be in the Bundeswehr, young men and women can also support social institutions such as retirement homes, homeless shelters or in the care of disabled people.
Steinmeier did not say how long the service should last – but it does not have to be a year.
However, the Federal President's initiative also met with strong criticism.
"Compulsory social service would mean an encroachment on the individual freedom of every young person," criticized the Green Party Minister for Family Affairs, Lisa Paus.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) and deputy government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner also announced that the federal government would continue to rely on voluntariness.
mrc/dpa
