analysis
Status: 03/28/2023 12:08 p.m
Ex-Minister of Defense Lambrecht is now officially farewelled with a big tattoo. She didn’t lack self-confidence. What remains of your short tenure?
A windy day in January. Christine Lambrecht is standing on the grounds of the Erzgebirge barracks in Saxony. She has pulled the zipper of her leather jacket up to her neck. The Minister of Defense first lets Panzergrenadiers show her what the Marder infantry fighting vehicle stationed there can do. Then you soldiers explain how the anti-tank weapon works, with which the “Marder” is equipped. Lambrecht listens to this without any discernible emotion. It is her last visit to the troops as a minister.
Four days later she resigns from her post. She no longer wants to appear in front of the cameras. The Department of Defense sends out just a few sparse lines. In the statement, Lambrecht justified her withdrawal by saying that the “months of media focus on my person […] factual reporting and discussion about the soldiers, the Bundeswehr and “security-political course setting”. In doing so, Lambrecht ultimately blames the media for their failure.
5000 helmets as a “clear signal” to Ukraine
She offered her critics a target for attack early on: a few weeks before the Russian attack, Lambrecht promised Ukraine 5,000 helmets – and wants this to be understood as a “very clear signal” to the threatened country: “We are on your side.” But in view of Russia’s military superiority, which is building up on the Ukrainian borders at this point, the announcement appears to many to be completely inadequate. Later, Germany also supplied weapons: first bazookas and anti-aircraft missiles, then artillery pieces and anti-aircraft tanks. All of this falls within Lambrecht’s term of office, but it is of no use to her politically.
Because the decisions about arms deliveries are made in the chancellery – and not in the defense ministry. The same applies to the far-reaching decision to modernize the Bundeswehr with the help of a 100 billion euro program. In retrospect, the political scientist Carlo Masala concludes that as defense minister, Lambrecht was “only to a limited extent an independent actor”: “Errors were certainly made, but not all mistakes can be attributed to her.”
A “lost year” for the Bundeswehr
Nevertheless, Masala speaks of a “lost year” with regard to the pending modernization of the troops. Lambrecht’s crucial mistake was to shy away from major reforms and to leave it at “smaller changes” in procurement. “In view of the state of the Bundeswehr, that was the wrong decision,” says the military expert from the Bundeswehr University in Munich.
In fact, Lambrecht did not decree any comprehensive structural reforms for the ministry, but merely took the first steps. An example of this is the decision that commanders can now freely spend up to 5000 euros – i.e. without complex administrative procedures. The so-called Procurement Acceleration Act should also bring more speed into the system. But the Bundeswehr is still suffering from shortages – more than a year after the Chancellor’s so-called turning point speech.
Not a cent has arrived at the Bundeswehr
The troops have “too little of everything,” said the Bundestag Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, recently at the presentation of her current annual report. The report reads like a summary of Lambrecht’s one-year tenure. One of the most important points of the report: In the whole of 2022, not a cent from the 100 billion program has reached the Bundeswehr.
A development that became apparent long before Lambrecht’s resignation. At the end of last year, the Bundestag released funds from the special fund for the first projects worth billions, including modern fighter jets and new transport helicopters. But in some cases it will still be several years before the device arrives at the Bundeswehr.
Weapon systems “not on the shelf at the hardware store”
On the one hand, that’s in the nature of things – at least to a certain extent. During her time in the Bendler Block, Lambrecht herself repeatedly referred to the complexity of weapon systems such as tanks or combat aircraft. Such a device cannot be “simply pulled out of the shelf at the hardware store,” she called out to the opposition in a Bundestag debate. On the other hand, things that are significantly less complex in terms of procurement and production remain under their management.
The lack of ammunition, for example, has been known for a long time. Experts estimate the need to be in the tens of billions. But Lambrecht failed to mobilize money in time to fill the gaps in the depots. In November, she wrote to the finance minister asking him to make a significant budget available “right now” for this purpose. Christian Lindner, however, who not only heads a ministry but also the FDP, sees the letter as an opportunity: namely, to defeat the social democrat.
Unfortunate exchange of letters with the Treasury
Lindner takes the opportunity to remind the cabinet colleague through one of his state secretaries, “that the necessity of procuring ammunition mentioned here should not be discussed in the negotiations on the special fund […] expressed during the course of the parliamentary procedure”. The exchange of letters quickly made the rounds in Berlin. Lambrecht thus looked like a minister who hadn’t done her homework.
For the opposition, it has long been clear in the fall that Lambrecht is the wrong choice. For example, the CDU MP Johann Wadephul called on the SPD politician to give up her post during the budget week in the Bundestag. And some journalists have made their judgment even earlier: “The zero-buck minister” is a “Spiegel” headline from May. The article lists Lambrecht’s mishaps and omissions – from the helmet issue to a lack of enthusiasm for reform to the helicopter flight with his son.
The list was so long back then that many in Berlin rubbed their eyes in amazement. After all, Lambrecht can look back on a successful career before taking office in the military department: as a lawyer, member of the Bundestag and Minister of Justice.
Unsuccessful New Year’s Eve video
For a while she still holds on at the head of the Ministry of Defense. But after the turn of the year she pulls the ripcord. The famous New Year’s Eve video in the Berlin fireworks and the biting criticism of it seem to be the deciding factor. But an unsuccessful video alone would hardly have been her undoing. “If she had done a decent job,” says military expert Masala, a communication breakdown like this would not have “caused such a media outcry.” As it is, however, Lambrecht has given cause for criticism on both levels: in the public image and in the matter at hand.
The modernization of the Bundeswehr may not have progressed as well under Lambrecht as many would have wished in view of the changed security situation: But the Bundeswehr also said goodbye to this supreme commander with a big tattoo, as is customary. That’s why the ex-minister has another public appearance in the Bendlerblock on Tuesday evening. Like her predecessors, Lambrecht can choose the three pieces of music to be played at the ceremony. So this is how a political career comes to an end, which was recently characterized above all by setbacks: as a request concert.
Big tattoo
The Great Tattoo is the highest form of military honor for German soldiers. The approximately one-hour ceremony has a long tradition and is only performed on very special occasions.
The origins of the tattoo go back to the time of the lansquenets in the 16th century. At that time, a troop commander in inns and taverns announced the beginning of the night’s rest by stroking the taps of the beverage barrels – hence the name “Zapfenstreich”. After that, the innkeepers were no longer allowed to serve to the soldiers. Over the centuries, this signal was musically enriched by playing trumpets, flutes and drums.
Today, the Great Tattoo of the German Armed Forces consists of the “luring” of the minstrels, the performance of the music corps and the mounted troops, a prayer and the national anthem. Personally selected pieces of music by the honoree will also be played.