BERLIN (Realist English). German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht resigned amid sharp criticism of Berlin’s reaction to the Ukrainian crisis. 57-year-old Lambrecht asked Chancellor Olaf Scholz to dismiss her from office.
“Months of media attention to my person hardly allows for objective coverage and discussion of servicemen and women, as well as decisions in the field of security policy in the interests of German citizens,” she said.
NATO allies are calling on Berlin to supply Kiev with German-made Leopard tanks. On January 14, the UK agreed to send Challenger tanks to the AFU.
According to the Politico magazine, Lambrecht’s resignation is a bitter setback for Scholz, who has long defended his minister from growing criticism and just two weeks ago said through a spokesman that he considers her a “first—class defense minister.”
“Letting Lambrecht go also means admitting that the Chancellor of the Social Democrats chose the wrong person when he formed his government a little over a year ago. There is also the possibility that Scholz will take the opportunity to announce a broader government reshuffle. With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Lambrecht’s style was criticized, especially for the fact that ыhe could not provide the increase in military spending promised by Scholz,” the publication notes.
Earlier, Berlin created an investment fund of 100 billion euros for the needs of the Bundeswehr — the German armed forces. The Germans even promised to invest “from now on, year after year” at least 2% of their GDP in defense, but in practice their actions say the opposite.
Boris Pistorius has been appointed as the new minister. His appointment interrupted a decade of female leadership of the German army. Pistorius has a background in the security area, he is a native of Lower Saxony where he was the minister of the Interior.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for the creation of a special international tribunal to try the Russian leadership.: “A tribunal is needed that will be able to investigate the actions of the Russian leadership and bring it to justice.”
