Christine Lambrecht is silent. Even from the Chancellery, nothing leaks out to the public. A resignation of the hapless defense minister is considered likely. But when?
Reports that Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) is about to step down have sparked a follow-up debate. Several politicians spoke out in favor of clarifying the personal details as quickly as possible.
“I trust the SPD that they will come to a good decision,” said the defense policy spokeswoman for the Greens parliamentary group, Sara Nanni, on Saturday of the German Press Agency. With a view to the current challenges posed by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, she emphasized: “The sooner we have clarity, the better.”
On Friday evening, several media reported unanimously that Lambrecht was about to resign from her ministerial post. There is no official confirmation for this so far. Questions from journalists about the reports about Lambrecht’s resignation were studiously ignored by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Saturday at the opening of a liquid gas terminal in Lubmin on the Baltic Sea.
Is parity tipping in the cabinet?
“Even with this waving and this waiting and this hesitation you harm the Bundeswehr,” criticized CDU leader Friedrich Merz on Saturday in Weimar. In his view, it would be good if the rumors going through the media ended with a decision by the Federal Chancellor. The opposition leader said that the Bundeswehr should again have someone as a minister who is up to the task. Lambrecht was “overwhelmed with this task right from the start”.
When asked whether parity – half of the cabinet posts are occupied by men and half by women – must be maintained when there is a new appointment at the top of the Defense Ministry, Green Party defense politician Nanni answered “No”. It is something different to formulate this goal when forming a government and then to realize it than to rule out certain options from the outset in the current situation.
“The Federal Chancellor should not fill the Ministry of Defense, which is important for Germany’s security, from an equal point of view according to gender, but only according to competence,” said FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki of the “Bild am Sonntag”. “After four weak ministers, the Bundeswehr finally deserves someone who understands something.”
Will the SPD find a replacement?
The male SPD politicians who are traded as possible successors include co-party leader Lars Klingbeil and Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil. A change of department from Heil would still result in a change in the cabinet. However, it is considered unlikely that there will be a major reshuffle of the cabinet, which will also affect the previous division of departments among the three traffic light parties.
The parliamentary director of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei, told the “Rheinische Post” that a resignation would be logical “because Defense Minister Lambrecht has never arrived in office since she became a minister in December 2021”. The CDU politician also sees the chancellor as responsible here. He said: “It was never the case that Chancellor Scholz would have given Lambrecht a decisive role. Although she became one of the most important cabinet members with the beginning of the Russian war of aggression.”
At the same time, Frei demanded that Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), who is touted as the top candidate for the Hessian state elections in autumn, must soon clarify her future. “Federal Minister of the Interior Faeser apparently cannot decide whether she wants to become the SPD’s top candidate in Hesse or not,” he told the newspaper.
Left criticizes German Ukraine course
From the perspective of Die Linke, a change at the top of the Defense Ministry would not bring any progress in dealing with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The federal government has no convincing strategy, said party leader Martin Schirdewan. “The change of personal details will not solve the dilemma, it is about the federal government finally setting the course to move away from the military logic towards a peace logic and to promote diplomacy and peace negotiations.”
Schirdewan and co-party leader Janine Wissler once again spoke out explicitly against tank deliveries to Ukraine and in favor of peace negotiations. Standing up for diplomacy does not mean taking sides with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wissler said to Lambrecht that the Minister of Defense had acted unhappily. But the purchase of armed drones and nuclear-capable fighter jets are more problematic from the point of view of the left than the much-criticized New Year’s video of the minister, said Wissler.
In the video recorded at an intersection in Berlin, Lambrecht spoke about the war in Ukraine in front of the background noise of the New Year’s fireworks. This had been criticized as inappropriate, especially on social media. Speculations about her resignation were also the most discussed topic among Twitter users in Germany on Saturday.
Source: Stern
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