Hoekstra wants 200,000 young people to join the armed forces or opt for social service every year, he tells De Telegraaf. “They can spend six months or a year on strengthening our military and national security or on a social task, such as welfare and welfare.”
According to him, “union, reasonableness and the rule of law” are currently under pressure in the Netherlands. ‘I see more and more polarisation, including in politics. Population groups come into contact with each other less and less. And he continues: ‘I think it is completely logical that you ask young people to do something for the country. This is already happening in many other countries.’
Since 1997 in the Netherlands it is no longer compulsory to enter the service. A year of volunteering is currently being tested. The CDA is holding a party conference in Amersfoort this afternoon. Hoekstra will beg his plan there. “Time to reintroduce conscription.”