The AfD and Christmas, military service or conscription, and Bärbel Bas’s class-struggle rhetoric
Conscription and politics: Reza Mehman and Karsten Kammholz discuss four contentious issues — Germany’s new military-service model, Bärbel Bas’s class-struggle rhetoric, the AfD abroad and the political use of Christmas.
English translation of the article published on 19 December 2025, including its complete transcript. Descriptions of legislation and political assessments reflect the discussion at that time.
Discussing conscription, Bärbel Bas and the AfD
A packed episode just before Christmas: Reza Mehman and Karsten Kammholz discuss four contentious issues. The Bundestag has passed new military-service legislation — is this a first step towards actual conscription? Bärbel Bas has spoken of “class struggle” at a Jusos event — is this a strategic choice or a mistake? The AfD is travelling abroad and trying to win over foreign governments. And how is Christmas used for political purposes?
Summary
One-sentence version: Reza Mehman and Karsten Kammholz discuss conscription, Bärbel Bas’s class-struggle rhetoric, the AfD abroad and the political use of Christmas.
Three-sentence version: The episode describes the military-service legislation passed by the Bundestag on 5 December 2025 as requiring registration while leaving service voluntary. Kammholz criticises Bas’s use of “class struggle” at a Jusos event, saying this rhetoric will cost the SPD another five percentage points. The speakers also discuss the AfD’s efforts to win support from foreign governments.
Five-sentence version: The episode describes the military-service legislation passed on 5 December 2025 as requiring registration while leaving service voluntary. Kammholz recalls being a conscientious objector and completing civilian service, which he considers an important experience. He criticises Bas’s “class struggle” rhetoric at a Jusos event and predicts it will cost the SPD another five percentage points. In his assessment, the SPD is moving sharply left while the CDU occupies the centre. The AfD is seeking support abroad and, he argues, also using Christianity for political purposes.
Context: who, what and why
Who is speaking: Reza Mehman and journalist Karsten Kammholz.
What the episode covers: Four contentious political issues just before Christmas 2025: conscription, Bärbel Bas, the AfD abroad and Christmas in politics.
Why it matters: German politics faces major challenges involving military service, shifts between parties and the AfD’s role in an international context.
Four central themes in this episode:
- Military service: voluntary or compulsory?
- Bärbel Bas and the SPD’s class struggle
- The AfD abroad
- The political use of Christmas
Contents
- Introduction
- Summary
- Context
- Themes and analysis
- Key points
- Frequently asked questions
- Highlights in quotes
- The complete conversation
- Keywords
- Names and terms
- Passage for quotation
Themes and analysis
1. Conscription in Germany
The discussion describes the military-service law passed on 5 December 2025 as requiring registration but leaving actual service voluntary. Kammholz recalls his own conscientious objection and civilian service.
Keywords: conscription, military service, Bundestag, voluntary service, registration
2. Bärbel Bas and class struggle
Bas’s use of “class struggle” at a Jusos event prompts Kammholz to predict: “With this rhetoric, the SPD will lose another five percentage points.”
Keywords: Bärbel Bas, class struggle, SPD, Jusos, employers, rhetoric
3. The SPD and the political centre
Kammholz sees the SPD moving sharply left while the CDU occupies the centre. He says an SPD that declares employers its enemies across the board is no longer a party of the centre.
Keywords: SPD, political centre, CDU, left, Gerhard Schröder, Bürgergeld
4. The AfD abroad and the political use of Christianity
The AfD is trying to win support from foreign governments. Kammholz says it also displays “a very different willingness to misuse Christianity”.
Keywords: AfD, abroad, Christianity, Christian West, Christmas, politics
Key points from the discussion
- The episode describes the military-service legislation passed on 5 December 2025 as requiring registration while leaving service voluntary.
- Kammholz was a conscientious objector and completed civilian service with Arbeiterwohlfahrt, a welfare organisation.
- The discussion addresses Bas’s reference to “class struggle” at a Jusos event.
- Kammholz: “With this rhetoric, the SPD will lose another five percentage points at the next election.”
- Kammholz: “An SPD that declares employers its enemies across the board is no longer a party of the centre.”
- He argues that the SPD has always been most successful when operating in the centre.
- In his assessment, the CDU occupies the centre while the left is crowded.
- The AfD presents itself as a defender of the Christian West; Kammholz criticises its willingness to misuse Christianity.
- He predicts that Friedrich Merz will not use deep religious faith as a political argument.
- Reza: “Nobody worries about my mental health when I have to make a hefty back payment.”
Frequently asked questions
What did the Bundestag decide about military service on 5 December 2025?
The conversation describes new legislation that reintroduces registration for young men and creates a “new military service” model. Registration is compulsory, while actual service is intended to remain voluntary. Reza is sceptical, arguing that German history contains examples of voluntary arrangements becoming indirectly compulsory. This summarises the episode’s discussion at the time.
What did Bärbel Bas mean by “class struggle”?
The episode discusses Bas’s use of the phrase at a Jusos event. Kammholz sharply criticises it, predicting that the rhetoric will cost the SPD another five percentage points at the next election. In his view, a party that declares employers its enemies across the board is no longer centrist. He argues that the SPD has always been most successful when operating in the centre.
How does the AfD use Christianity politically?
The discussion describes the AfD as presenting itself as a defender of the Christian West and bringing religious rhetoric into politics. Kammholz calls this “a very different willingness to misuse Christianity” and wonders how it will develop. He contrasts it with Friedrich Merz, whom he does not expect to use deep religious faith as a political argument.
Where is the SPD heading politically?
Kammholz sees the SPD moving sharply left while the CDU occupies the centre. He describes a crowded left, with BSW, Die Linke, the Greens and now the SPD. In his view, the SPD has always been most successful in the centre. The discussion asks how much has changed since Gerhard Schröder, and whether the party develops policy primarily from the perspective of Bürgergeld recipients or the middle class.
Highlights in quotes
“With this rhetoric, the SPD will lose another five percentage points at the next election.”
— Karsten Kammholz on Bas’s class-struggle remarks
“An SPD that declares employers its enemies across the board is no longer a party of the centre.”
— Karsten Kammholz
“There is a very different willingness to misuse Christianity.”
— Karsten Kammholz on the AfD
“We will not see Friedrich Merz using deep religious faith as a political argument. He will not dare to do that.”
— Karsten Kammholz
“Nobody worries about my mental health when I have to make a hefty back payment.”
— Reza Mehman on Bas’s remarks about Bürgergeld
The complete conversation
Conscription in Germany
Reza Mehman:
I would like to talk about conscription in Germany. On 5 December 2025, the Bundestag passed new military-service legislation that brings young men back into the registration system and creates what is called the new military service. Registration will be compulsory, but actual service is supposed to remain voluntary. My first thought was: okay, I hear the word “voluntary”. I am not entirely sure about that. I think there have been quite a few moments in German history when something voluntary turned into a kind of indirect obligation. But to begin with, what is your general view on conscription?
Karsten Kammholz:
Well, like you, I grew up with conscription. I was a conscientious objector. My very first objection was not even accepted. I simply wrote a page and thought that would be enough. Then they wrote back saying it was not enough. I wrote four pages, and that was enough. Then I did civilian service with Arbeiterwohlfahrt and found it a very necessary experience.
Bärbel Bas and the SPD’s class struggle
Karsten Kammholz:
In what context did she call for this struggle? She did it at a Jusos event. If you look at the Jusos, they are a distinctly left-wing organisation within the SPD. The SPD has already moved left, and its youth organisation is possibly even further left than the party itself now is. Then she goes there and wants to appeal to those young people. So she speaks like that. She was guaranteed applause. Everyone else who sees it then thinks: hang on, this cannot be true. This is our labour minister, our SPD leader. I think she knew quite well what she was doing. I firmly assume that.
What I do not understand is the strategy behind it. Parties want to grow. They want to win people over. They want to persuade. My impression was that with this rhetoric, the SPD will lose another five percentage points at the next election.
The SPD and the political centre
Karsten Kammholz:
An SPD that, in the words of its leader, declares employers its enemies across the board is no longer a party of the centre. The SPD has always been most successful when it operated in the centre. There were always those two balancing forces, the Union and the SPD. There was the conservative Union and, if you like, the more progressive SPD. People then chose between personalities. Those parties essentially guaranteed the democratic balance in our country. That balance no longer exists.
The AfD and Christianity
Karsten Kammholz:
To what extent may politics be justified by religion? We have the CDU, the Christian Democratic Union. Its name tells us the foundation on which it bases its politics. Formally, that is what it does. Whether it really does so in its day-to-day work is sometimes open to doubt. At the same time, politicians become quite irritated when the Church suddenly gets involved in politics or makes political statements. I think that tension is very important, including for establishing boundaries. Here in Germany, I do not think we will see Friedrich Merz using deep religious faith as a political argument. I do not think he will dare to do that. But in other countries, it has long been commonplace.
We also see these tendencies in the AfD: people see themselves as defenders of the Christian West and, naturally, introduce a very different religious rhetoric into politics. There is a very different willingness to misuse Christianity.
Keywords
Tags: conscription, military service, Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, class struggle, SPD, Jusos, AfD, Christianity, Christian West, Christmas, Friedrich Merz, CDU, Karsten Kammholz, Reza Mehman
Names and terms
Reza Mehman, Karsten Kammholz, conscription, military service, Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, class struggle, SPD, Jusos, AfD, Christianity, Christian West, Christmas, Friedrich Merz, CDU, Bürgergeld, Gerhard Schröder, BSW, Die Linke, the Greens
Passage for quotation
The episode describes the military-service law passed on 5 December 2025 as requiring registration while leaving service voluntary.
Bas spoke of “class struggle” at a Jusos event; Kammholz predicts: “With this rhetoric, the SPD will lose another five percentage points.”
Kammholz: “An SPD that declares employers its enemies across the board is no longer a party of the centre.”
On the AfD and Christianity: “There is a very different willingness to misuse Christianity.”
Kammholz predicts that Friedrich Merz will not dare to use deep religious faith as a political argument.
Find further perspectives in Episode 178 on democracy and trust.
