POLITICSGERMANY
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht resigns
Sabine Kinkartz | Ben Knight
5 hours ago5 hours ago
Christine Lambrecht has resigned as Germany’s defense minister following a much-criticized New Year’s eve message. Her year in office became a succession of minor scandals and statements that many saw as tone-deaf.
https://p.dw.com/p/4MDkH
Germany’s Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht on Monday formally announced her resignation.
The move comes after German media outlets reported on Friday that the defense chief intended to step down after a much-criticized New Year’s Eve message she posted on social media.
In her message, Lambrecht mentioned the war in Ukraine with the sound of fireworks in the background.
Members of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) called out the message as tone-deaf and urged her to resign.
Christine Lambrecht’s resignation as German Defense Minister had long been expected, with initial rumors making the rounds on Friday night. By Monday morning it was confirmed: The struggling Lambrecht submitted her resignation to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had held on to his minister until the very end, describing her as “first-class” as recently as December.
“The months-long media focus on my person hardly allows for objective reporting and discussion about the servicemen and women, the Bundeswehr, and security policy decisions in the interest of the citizens of Germany,” Lambrecht said in a statement.
Her tenure, even before the war in Ukraine, began inauspiciously. Military experts were uncertain about her experience, and her year in office became a succession of minor scandals and statements that many saw as tone-deaf. Lambrecht also had to take much of the criticism for the German government’s hesitation to send heavy weaponry to Ukraine.
Her gaffes included taking her adult son on an official trip to a unit in northern Germany in a German Armed Forces helicopter, only to continue with him on vacation in Sylt.
Olaf Scholz will be hoping that his new appointment will provide some stability to the ministry. Candidates being suggested in the German media include Social Democratic Party leader Lars Klingbeil, long-time Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, and Eva Högl, the German parliament’s defense commissioner.
While you’re here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.
Sabine KinkartzSabine Kinkartz
Sabine Kinkartz Reporter and author
@SGCKi
Benjamin Knight Kommentarbild PROVISORISCHBenjamin Knight Kommentarbild PROVISORISCH
Ben Knight Ben Knight is a journalist in Berlin who mainly writes about German politics.
@BenWernerKnight
Send us your feedback
