TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP
Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht did not convince with her New Year’s greetings.
INTERNATIONAL – Hair in the wind and fireworks in the background… German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, already weakened by blunders, was again criticized on Monday 2 January after her wishes were broadcast inaudible and his comments on the war in Ukraine were deemed inappropriate .
The video only lasts a minute, but was deemed so unsuccessful that the social democratic minister was once again targeted by the conservative opposition and the German media, who were calling for his resignation.
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There the minister appears in the middle of Berlin, disheveled by gusts of wind, between two bangs and firecrackers, which are particularly popular with Germans for New Year’s celebrations, provoking war in the Ukraine.
“Simply Shameful”
“A war is raging in the middle of Europe. I was able to draw a lot of special impressions from it,” the minister slips on the subject of the Russian invasion and refers to “many, many encounters with interesting and wonderful people”. “I say a big thank you for that.”
“There have long been doubts about his suitability for this position. Now it’s up to the chancellor to take the necessary steps,” criticized the Berliner Tagesspiegel on Monday.
“The New Year’s speech, which was recorded on a cell phone and because of the firecrackers and the lack of a microphone on a Berlin sidewalk and was barely understandable, would have been embarrassing for an honorary village mayor – for a defense minister of a NATO member it’s just shameful,” says Bild, the country’s most widely read daily newspaper , Kicking off.
Pressed with questions at a regular news conference, the Defense Department spokesman was content to say the video was a “private video” made without “official resources” and posted to his Instagram account.
Olaf Scholz criticized by Querschläger
The minister has racked up disappointments in 2022 that have regularly drawn ridicule and criticism, such as when she announced she would be sending thousands of helmets to Ukrainians who were expecting shipments of heavy weapons from Germany instead.
In the eyes of the Ukrainian regime, but also in the eyes of the Germans, Christine Lambrecht embodied the shortcomings of an army whose equipment is outdated. In mid-December, for example, Berlin had to suspend new orders for armored Puma vehicles after a series of breakdowns in armored vehicles already in use with the army.
The minister’s greetings, with New Year’s Eve bangers in the background, “only crown her series of embarrassments,” denounces Serap Güler, who is responsible for defense issues in the CDU.
By calling his minister, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, “does he really care about Germany’s influence in Europe and in the world? “Adds Armin Laschet, unsuccessful candidate in 2021 to succeed Angela Merkel.
For the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, the minister’s repeated mistakes represent “a huge burden” for an army that is to be modernized in wartime and regained its strategic importance.
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