German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (57) wants to resign, “Bild” reports, citing multiple sources. According to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the resignation should take place next week. According to a poll, the majority of Germans support Lambrecht’s resignation. This is evident from the “Politbarometer” of the ZDF published on Friday. According to this report, 60 percent of those polled were in favor of the minister’s resignation; 25 percent were against it. Even within the SPD, 50 percent were in favor of resigning; 38 percent were in favor of staying on.
Lambrecht would have taken the initiative himself, not the chancellery. Now only the exact time of her resignation has to be determined. Her successor has also been discussed. The newspaper mentions military commissar Eva Högl (54), also a social democrat, as a possible successor.
A spokesman for the federal defense ministry said on Friday evening when asked by AFP news agency: “These are rumors that we do not comment on.” Lambrecht herself and her department have not yet officially responded to the report.
Lambrecht did not endear himself as Minister of Defence. Since taking office in December 2021, she has endured a lot of criticism. An overview of the faux pas made by the “Minister Breakdown Assistance”.
Puma bad luck in the Bundeswehr
A report from the Ministry of Defense in Germany recently caused a stir. It admitted that the Bundeswehr’s 18 “Puma” tanks were not robust and reliable. Previous experience with the devices is said to have taught “that this highly complex weapon system in its current state of construction can only be operated with a closely intertwined technical and logistical concept consisting of troops, army repair logistics, project management and industry”. In plain English: Right now, the Bundeswehr’s tanks are incredibly complex and intricate.
During a maneuver at the end of December in Lower Saxony, 17 of 18 “cougars” failed, the German media reported. Means: The tank model is currently not operational. However, the Ministry of Defense assured that a summit would be held soon with all parties involved and a solution would be sought.
New Year’s Eve scandal speech
Around the turn of the year, Lambrecht ended up in the crossfire because of her misplaced New Year’s speech. In the midst of whistling New Year’s Eve rockets, exploding fireworks and colorful light shows, she summarized the past, bloody year as follows: “A war is raging in the middle of Europe. And that was accompanied by a lot of special impressions that I was able to gain, a lot of meetings with interesting and wonderful people. I want to thank you very much for that.”
The criticism was not long in coming: CDU defense politician Serap Güler (42) called on Twitter Chancellor Olaf Scholz (64) to fire Lambrecht. “The speech about the war with fireworks on New Year’s Eve in the background only completes her series of embarrassments. Therefore: every further minute in which the Chancellor still detains this minister and thus further damages the reputation of our country, will be at his expense. » The federal government declined to comment on Lambrecht’s video.
Military blunder after military blunder
Even in the war in Ukraine, the defense minister cannot prove himself. When 200,000 Russian soldiers were transferred to the Ukrainian border in January 2022, Lambrecht ordered 5,000 helmets to be delivered to Ukraine. “Image” wrote at the time, “A disgrace!”
And while Scholz and other politicians proclaimed the “time of the era” in the course of the war, Lambrecht spoke of “disarmament policy”. An officer told “Spiegel”: Under Lambrecht, the Ministry of Defense and the leadership of the Bundeswehr “fell into a deep lethargy”. He compares the situation to sepsis, or a life-threatening blood poisoning – in the imagery of the agent, even the first organs threatened to die.
In December it was announced that the Bundeswehr was missing ammunition worth 20 to 30 million euros, the editorial network Germany reports. Furthermore, she would have ensured the purchase of the stealth bomber F-35 much too late.
Debunked helicopter lie
Lambrecht is known for taking her son Alexander Lambrecht (21) on business trips. This was also the case on Easter 2022, when she traveled to Ladelund (North Friesland) to pay a visit to the 911 Electronic Warfare Battalion. This is reported by the business portal Business Insider. He proudly posed on Instagram in the government helicopter, which costs about CHF 5,600 per flight hour.
Immediately after the business trip, a few days of vacation followed on the North Sea island of Sylt, which is just a stone’s throw from North Frisia. Criticism poured in – even legal action was considered. A lawyer from the Bundeswehr tells “Bild” that by publishing the photo, the minister or her son would have violated the Penal Code, more specifically the article “Security-threatening images of military equipment”. The fear: Spies could see technical details of the helicopter in the photo.
She also denied for months that she herself had taken the photo of her son – until a court recently forced her to do so, as “Bild” writes.