Secretary of Defense
Lambrecht’s resignation expected – debate about successor
Shortly before the end? Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has long been controversial. photo
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Christine Lambrecht is silent. So far, nothing has been made public from the Chancellery either. It is true that the hapless minister’s resignation is likely. But when?
Reports that Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) is about to step down have sparked a follow-up debate.
“I trust the SPD that they will come to a good decision,” said the defense policy spokeswoman for the Greens parliamentary group, Sara Nanni, 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.”
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 Ministry of Defense, she 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 in the current situation from the outset.
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 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.”
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.
Union: “Lambrecht never arrived in office”
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 Minister in December 2021”. The CDU politician also sees Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) 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.
Linke: “The change of personal details will not solve the dilemma”
From the perspective of Die Linke, a change at the top of the Defense Ministry would not mean 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. The speculation about her resignation was at times the most discussed topic among Twitter users in Germany.