How Boris Pistorius is transforming the German armed forces

Boris Pistorius might seem an unlikely candidate for Germany’s most popular politician. A ruddy-faced veteran of local politics in the flat north-western state of Lower Saxony, he can sound gruff and dismissive. His party, the Social Democrats, has suffered a steep drop in support since taking power at the head of a three-way coalition in 2021. And for a country that has enjoyed eight decades of peace, that shuns nuclear weapons and still shudders with shame for instigating two world wars, Mr Pistorius’s message to bite the bullet and get , “war-capable”—and to get there fast—might seem jarring.Yet since being appointed defence minister 13 months ago the 63-year-old lawyer has topped every poll. This owes much to his straight-talking manner. It also reflects the changing times, or more precisely the , a term that Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, used three days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to emphasise the gravity of the moment. From this point forward, he said, nothing would be the same. Germany would have to build defences in a more hostile world. To many Germans, a tough-guy defence minister who looks happiest clambering onto muddy tanks seems just the ticket in a dark hour.