Boris Pistorius becomes new German defense minister Dead boy in Vietnam still in the deep pipe – salvage progress

Boris Pistorius, the interior minister of Lower Saxony, will be the new defense minister. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wanted to officially announce Pistorius as the successor to Christine Lambrecht at noon, various media and also t-online learned from government circles.

Christine Lambrecht (SPD) had written on Monday morning that she had asked for Scholz’s release. The SPD politician has been under fire for months, partly because of a failed New Year’s Eve video and the reluctance to supply weapons to Ukraine. Read more about it here.

Lambrecht leaves the future head of department a whole series of construction sites behind. The modernization of the Bundeswehr has only just begun with the help of the special fund, which contains 100 billion euros. So far, contracts have only been signed for a good ten billion euros. Chancellor Scholz announced the rearmament after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

It is also unclear how arms deliveries to Ukraine will continue. After the federal government recently decided to provide Marder armored personnel carriers, the current debates revolve around supplying Leopard main battle tanks to the attacked country. Deficiencies in numerous weapon systems, such as the Puma infantry fighting vehicle, and difficulties in obtaining ammunition are also permanent problems for the troops.

The orderly withdrawal from the UN mission Minusma in Mali is also on the agenda of the future “Ibuk”, the holder of command and control authority. According to a decision by the federal government, this must be done by May 2024.

The CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter pointed out that representatives of Ukraine’s western allies will meet on Friday at the US Ramstein Air Force Base in Rhineland-Palatinate. Whoever succeeds Lambrecht must “immediately take over the leadership and coordination of the military support to Ukraine or at least end the German blockade,” Kiesewetter told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “Because Germany must finally take the lead in coordinating a Leopard alliance to fulfill its self-imposed claim to a leadership role.”

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), the chairman of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, has repeatedly called for action on the battle tank issue. The pivot remains the chancellery, she emphasized on ARD. She hopes that a decision will be made very soon. “The Europeans and also the NATO countries expect leadership from Germany.”

(tononline/dpa)