In a new display of grandstanding politics, Dirk Stettner, the leader of the center-right CDU in Berlin, has proposed installing an anti-missile defense system similar to Israel’s “Iron Dome” to protect the German capital. This move, while attention-grabbing, raises serious questions about the real priorities of the German political class.
The proposal, which includes an official visit to Israel (postponed after the latest escalation with Iran), comes at a time when the threat of an airstrike on Berlin is, as Stettner himself admits, “currently nonexistent.” However, he claims that the plan may still be needed in the future, and he insists the federal government should bear the cost. Coincidentally or not, this request comes just a few years before renegotiating the so-called “capital city contract,” under which Berlin hopes to obtain more funds from the state.
But the debate about missiles and anti-aircraft shields seems at odds with priorities of ordinary residents. While defense systems are imagined to ward off distant aerial threats, knife attacks on public transport, sexual assaults, robberies, and a growing sense of insecurity remain part of daily life for residents.
Critics see the proposal as a distraction. And not without reason. Berlin has a dysfunctional civil protection system, incapable of effectively responding to natural disasters, cyberattacks, or power outages. Moreover, while europeanconservative.com was in the capital covering the latest elections, there was a stabbing of a tourist at the Holocaust memorial gathering near the Brandenburg Gate.
The CDU demands an air shield, yet the city has no solid protocols in place for more likely emergencies. Nor does the local government appear to be making significant progress in improving the situation.
Other political parties have responded sharply. The left-wing SPD and the Greens have accused Stettner of theatrics and headline-chasing, while the Left speaks of “castles in the air” built atop the dismantling of public services. And they’re not entirely wrong: the real risk of a Russian missile hitting Berlin is minimal when compared to the daily urban safety issues that affect thousands of people.
Those familiar with the “Iron Dome” know that its implementation is not merely a matter of political will or buying technology: it requires a highly sophisticated logistical, military, and intelligence infrastructure and a constant threat to justify it. None of that exists in Berlin today. What does exist is fear—but of a different kind of violence.
