STORY: Note: This post will be sent to you without narration. BORIS PISTORIUS, DESIGNATED FEDERAL MINISTER OF DEFENSE “The Bundeswehr has to adapt to a new situation that arose with the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. It is important to me to involve the soldiers very closely in this process and to take them with me. And the troops can rely on the fact that I will stand in front of them whenever necessary. I want to make the Bundeswehr strong for the time that lies ahead.” CHAIRMAN OF THE SPD BUNDESTAGSFRAKTION ROLF MÜTZENICH “There are no cancellations along the way, but of course there are a large number of people who played a role who were also weighted. And in the end we came to the conclusion that Boris Pistorius the best proposal for the Minister of Defense in the Federal Republic of Germany because it fulfills what is currently necessary.” CHAIRMAN OF THE BÜNDNIS90/GRÜNE KATHARINA DRÖGE FACTION “And the tasks that lie ahead of him are great. Especially at a time when war is raging in Europe, when Russia is waging this terrible war of aggression against Ukraine. We are all shocked and horrified “I saw the pictures from last weekend, with the terrible air raids, with many civilian casualties in Ukraine. It is precisely here that a defense minister is needed who says very clearly: We support Ukraine with everything we can do. We support Ukraine in such a way that that it wins this war. And on the other hand, we have a turning point. And the German Bundestag expressed this with the decision for a special fund of 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr. And that is precisely why the structural reforms of the Bundeswehr This is an important new task for the future defense minister, especially in the reform of the procurement system.” CHAIRMAN OF THE FDP BUNDESTAGSFRAKTION, CHRISTIAN DÜRR “So the first requirement of a defense minister is of course that the troops, the soldiers who risk their lives every day, also for freedom in Germany, that they can stand behind this minister. And I’m very optimistic about Boris Pistorius, firstly, and secondly, of course, the reform projects that we have launched and have already financed to help the Bundeswehr achieve a breakthrough. There is a special fund of 100 billion euros ready to strengthen our defense capability. And that has to be implemented. That doesn’t mean that you just have to spend the money, but that spending has to go hand in hand with strengthening our country’s defense capability. And of course that’s what I expect of the new minister as well. And I’m confident in him.” CHAIRMAN OF THE FEDERAL TAG FRACTION CDU/CSU FRIEDRICH MERZ “We wish him every success in exercising this important office. In the current situation with war in Europe, it is perhaps the most important office held in the federal government after the Federal Chancellor. We are also offering him the cooperation, and we can start with it the day after tomorrow. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday morning, 9 a.m. There will be a debate in the German Bundestag at 10:30 a.m. on a motion that we are submitting for the supply of battle tanks to the Ukrainian army. We We very much hope that the new Federal Defense Minister will then make it clear that he wants to go down this path, wants to go with us – not just with us, but above all with our NATO partners and with the partner countries in the European Union who are willing to do so have been demanding from Germany for a long time now.”