The German Defense Minister causes a shitstorm with her New Year’s speech What will the year 2023 bring? Attempted prospect (no guarantee)

Christine Lambrecht shared a New Year’s speech on her Instagram profile on Sunday. The Minister of Defense is faced with an unusual backdrop. As she talks fearlessly in front of the mobile phone camera about the war and taking stock of the past year, rockets and fireworks blast after her, drowning her out in places. Criticism and malice for the performance later rained down on social networks.

The year 2022 presented people with incredible challenges, Lambrecht said in her post. Meanwhile, a bang sounded behind her. And further: “A war is raging in the middle of Europe.” She continues: “There were many special impressions that I was able to get from this. Many, many encounters with interesting, wonderful people. I want to thank you very much for that.”

“Have they gone mad in Berlin?”

The greeting was trending on social networks some time later. Some observers were angry. “It’s so unbearably tactless. ‘There is war in Europe’ – and I am in the middle of the New Year’s Eve fireworks. Boom,” criticized security expert Ulrike Franke in English on Twitter. “Have they gone mad in Berlin?” Political and communication consultant Johannes Hillje also criticizes: “Political communication first and foremost requires political intuition. The rest is craft. Both are missing from the #Lambrecht video. »

The security expert Ulrike Franke of the Berlin think tank European Council on Foreign Relations called the speech “unbearably insensitive”. And the satirist Jan Böhmermann jokingly joins the debate: “Tomorrow, Christine Lambrecht will take up the post of Minister of Self-Defense.”

The CDU defense politician Serap Güler suggested to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) that Lambrecht should be fired.

She wrote on Twitter, referring to the war in Ukraine:

It is no longer about the external impact of a minister, but about the perception of Germany in Europe and the world. “Who should take us so seriously?” wrote Guler.

The federal government does not want to comment on the annual balance sheet of the Minister of Defense. “I see no reason to evaluate this now,” deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said in Berlin on Monday.

Reactions from government circles

A Defense Ministry spokesman said the video was privately recorded and did not use any Ministry resources. Asked if the footage was an appropriate way to welcome the new year in light of the war in Ukraine, he said: “The minister’s words in the video speak for themselves. It’s not for me to comment on that. “

The chairman of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), said remotely on Monday: “The New Year’s video in question is a matter for the minister and her communication staff. I personally find the setting a bit unfortunate. I do not want to say more.”

Users suspect campaign tactics

However, the reaction of CDU defense politician Serap Güler also provoked criticism. A user suspects election campaign tactics of the Berlin CDU ahead of the upcoming election rerun in the capital. “Always pointing the finger at others instead of acknowledging one’s own mistakes seems to be especially popular with the CDU,” writes the user “Rogério”, recalling the photos from the Ahr Valley and saying that the long-standing Russia policy of the CDU has been ” screwed up”.

Meanwhile, Güler’s party colleague and member of the Bundestag Matthias Hauer posts in the same tone as the politician: “Even worse than the speech, however, is the minister’s performance in 2022 – at least for 2023 there is a lot of room for improvement. #Armed Forces.” (t online)