Total defence and resilience Pistorius outlines changes

Jun 5, 2024

Agnieszka Brugger asks about total defence, which she says the Cabinet addressed that day. Pistorius outlines equipment and personnel modernization, capacity to expand and sustain forces, allied transit through Germany, Operational Plan Germany and updates to preparedness laws dating largely from the 1970s and 1980s. On critical infrastructure and influence operations, he says Germany is a central or principal Russian cyber and hybrid target, advocates consistent responses and stronger systems and cites earlier adaptation in Scandinavia, Poland and the Baltics. Markus Grübel then asks about gendered Article 12a provisions. Pistorius calls them outdated, envisages voluntary opening to women and eventual constitutional discussion; he announces no enacted constitutional change.

Pistorius says Germany is a central, and in his assessment principal, target of Russian cyberattacks, hybrid threats and social-media influence operations. He calls for societal resilience, consistent responses and stronger systems, and says Germany has years to make up compared with Scandinavian, Polish and Baltic adaptation since 2014. The claim about Germany's target status is his assessment.