After much controversy, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht is reportedly planning to resign by the end of the week, according to German media.
The resignation of the German Minister of Defense seemed imminent, this Saturday, January 14, after a series of controversies having weakened her position in this key portfolio for which the political class is calling for new impetus. Relying in particular on sources from the minister’s entourage, several media, including Picture and the Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), claimed Friday evening that Christine Lambrecht had decided to resign and that she had informed Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
This figure of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the formation of the Chancellor, has been criticized for months for poor communication, a series of blunders and for not having been able to impose his authority. According to the daily SZ, she will announce her resignation next week, at a particularly critical moment since Germany is in full consultation with its Western allies to decide on the possible delivery of combat tanks to the Ukrainian army. Announcements are expected as Germany hosts US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday for a meeting with his G7 and EU counterparts on further military aid to Ukraine.
Multiple controversies
In her 13 months at the ministry, slip-ups have mounted for the 57-year-old former justice minister, culminating in a failed New Year’s Eve greeting message. The video was deemed to be in bad taste because recorded on a Berlin sidewalk to the deafening sound of firecrackers as war rages in Ukraine.
The substance was also problematic: the minister candidly confided that the war in Ukraine had enabled her tomany, many encounters with interesting and great people“. “For that, I say a big thank you“, she added. In the spring, she came under fire for flying her adult son in a Bundeswehr helicopter for a holiday on the German island of Sylt, after a visit from troops.
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By announcing, shortly before the Russian aggression of February 24, 2022, the sending of thousands of helmets to Ukrainians who were rather expecting arms deliveries, the minister also drew ridicule.
The minister is not spared within her party: the men and women of the Bundeswehr “need someone who has the power to command and who is clearly supportive of them, who shows there is also empathy“Said SPD deputy Joe Weingarten on Deutschlandfunk radio on Saturday.
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