A military expert from the East
Strack-Zimmermann’s successor on the committee has been decided
12.06.2024, 11:48 a.m.
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As chairwoman of the Defense Committee, Strack-Zimmermann rose to prominence and angered the Chancellor. Her successor has now been chosen and also represents a clear position. “We must create a willingness to defend among the population,” demands FDP politician Faber.
The FDP politician Marcus Faber is the new chairman of the Bundestag Committee on Defense. The 38 committee members elected the 40-year-old at a meeting in Berlin. “The #DefenceCommittee has just elected me as chairman. I am very grateful for that,” said Faber on X. “As the first chairman since #Warofaggression Being elected is a special responsibility for our security.”
Faber will succeed the current chairwoman Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who will enter the Strasbourg EU Parliament for the FDP after the European elections on Sunday and will therefore leave the Bundestag. Faber comes from Saxony-Anhalt and has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2017, and has been a full member of the Defense Committee since 2018. The military expert is vehemently committed to decisive support for Ukraine in its defensive fight against the Russian war of aggression.
“I see it as my main task to explain to people the sense of aid to Ukraine,” Faber said. “This is especially necessary in East Germany, and as an East German I can perhaps make it a little more credible than others.” Supporting Ukraine is in Germany’s interest, said Faber. “If Russia were to win the war, the costs for Germany would be much higher, if only because of the millions of refugees who would then leave Ukraine.”
“What is my role in the event of a defense?”
Faber also demanded that Germany become more capable of defending itself. “We must create a willingness to defend among the population,” he stressed. “The question must be: ‘What is my role in the event of a defense?'”
Faber has also repeatedly spoken out in favor of making the German Taurus cruise missile available to Ukraine – something Chancellor Olaf Scholz firmly opposes. Since the war began in February 2022, Faber has been to Ukraine several times and has also visited the troops near the front. The chairmen of the Bundestag committees prepare the meetings, chair them and can also call special sessions.
His predecessor Strack-Zimmermann is also a vocal advocate of extensive support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. In this context, she repeatedly criticized Scholz harshly – and thus provoked his displeasure.
Strack-Zimmermann’s criticism was not only sparked by the Chancellor’s course on Ukraine. “You can’t reach him because he’s a complete know-it-all,” she told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” at the end of May. “After three years, I’ve noticed that he has almost autistic traits, both in terms of his social contacts in politics and his inability to explain his actions to the public.”