- According to consistent media reports, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht apparently intends to resign soon.
- The Ministry of Defense does not want to comment on the reports because these are rumors, a spokesman said.
The “Bild” newspaper, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and ntv reported on Friday evening that the SPD politician wanted to resign. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said in the evening that these were rumors that would not be commented on. However, the German press agency received indications from several sources that Lambrecht could decide on the office in the coming week.
Expertise and public appearance criticized
In the event of a resignation, a central post in the traffic light cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), not least against the background of the Ukraine war, would have to be filled. Spokesmen for the federal government and SPD did not want to comment on the reports.
There has always been great criticism of Lambrecht’s administration, and the opposition Union has repeatedly demanded her resignation. Critics had accused her of the sluggish start of procurement for the Bundeswehr or a lack of expertise, but also her appearance in public. A photo of her son traveling in a Bundeswehr helicopter made negative headlines. Recently, a New Year’s message spread on Instagram, in which Lambrecht spoke about the Ukraine war accompanied by New Year’s Eve fireworks, caused irritation.
Chancellor Scholz sticks to Lambrecht
The Ministry of Defense has also come into focus as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. In response, the German federal government had launched a 100 billion euro program to better equip the Bundeswehr – the modernization of the armed forces is a mammoth task. The Ministry of Defense also plays an important role in supporting Ukraine.
In mid-December, Chancellor Scholz defended his defense minister. “The Bundeswehr has a first-class defense minister,” Scholz told the Süddeutsche Zeitung at the time. “I can only wonder about some of the criticism.” It is now a question of strengthening the Bundeswehr in the long term and reliably equipping it with weapons and ammunition.
Union: resignation as a “conciliatory conclusion”
The defense policy spokesman for the Union faction, Florian Hahn, welcomed Lambrecht’s possible resignation as a “positive prospect” for the Bundeswehr. “I would have the greatest respect for such a step,” said the CSU politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “That would be a conciliatory conclusion and a positive outlook for our Bundeswehr.”
Lambrecht took over the Ministry of Defense with the start of the traffic light government in December 2021. Previously, she had been Federal Minister of Justice in the last cabinet of Angela Merkel (CDU), after the resignation of Franziska Giffey she had also headed the Ministry of Family Affairs.