Just a few months ago, German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was alone on what one newspaper called a “kamikaze mission”: ending conscription in Germany.

Now Guttenberg’s proposals seem almost certain to be approved. Where he once faced stiff opposition, Guttenberg seems set to get support from all three of the parties in Germany’s ruling coalition.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and high-ranking members of her party now support the plan, after Christian Democratic Union (cdu) leaders met to discuss the conscription issue on September 12 near Berlin. Several of the state governors who now indicate they approve the plan were former doubters.

The biggest U-turn comes from the leader of the cdu’s sister party, the Christian Social Union (csu). Just weeks ago, Horst Seehofer rejected plans to scrap conscription—saying that support for conscription was an important component of German conservatism.

In an interview published in Spiegel on September 13, he had completely changed his mind, saying “conscription is a major imposition on the freedom of young people and is only constitutionally justifiable” if the country is in danger.

“Mr. Seehofer’s change of heart is a testament to the political cunning of Mr. zu Guttenberg, who at 38 is seen as a possible successor to Mr. Seehofer as csu leader and future contender to be chancellor,” writes the Financial Times.

Both the cdu and csu are expected to formally adopted Guttenberg’s position at a joint meeting of their leaders later this month.

“I get the impression that a broad and remarkable consensus is forming in both parties about this issue,” said senior cdu politician and Bundestag speaker Norbert Lammert.

Germany’s Freedom and Democratic Party (fdp), the third party in Merkel’s coalition, has long called for the abolition of conscription.

“How quickly times change,” writes Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung. “In the early summer, when Guttenberg first went public with his plans, it seemed like a kamikaze mission. Conscription was considered to be a sacred cow of the conservatives.”

“Who dares wins,” it concludes.

Guttenberg certainly appears to be winning. He stood up against strong opposition, even in his own party, and won.

With this kind of spectacular success, Guttenberg seems set to go far.

Many within Germany see that Guttenberg’s reforms make the military stronger even though they are marketed as cost-cutting measures. Guttenberg himself said that the cdu is the “party of the Bundeswehr and of security.”

Die Tageszeitung asks, rhetorically, if this is a victory for Germany’s pacifist left wing. Its answer: “Nein.”

“On the contrary, when Germany is called on to take part in a war more than 1,000 kilometers away, (the army) doesn’t need a horde of fresh recruits, but rather teams of specialists in security and modern weaponry,” it writes, concluding that after the military is reformed, it will be far more effective.

Continue to watch for Guttenberg to make Germany a stronger nation—just as the Trumpet has been saying for the past year.