BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s much-criticized defense minister announced her resignation Monday while her department spearheads the massive project of modernizing the country’s military and overseeing the expansion of arms supplies to Ukraine.
Christine Lambrecht said in a written statement that she had submitted her request for resignation to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, adding that “months of media focus on my person” had prevented a factual debate about the military and German security policy.
“The valuable work of the soldiers and many people in my department must be at the forefront,” she said.
A spokesman for Scholz said the chancellor had accepted Lambrecht’s resignation.
“The chancellor respects Mrs Lambrecht’s decision and thanks her for her good work in these difficult and challenging times,” Christiane Hoffmann told reporters in Berlin.
She said a replacement would be announced “soon”.
Hoffmann added that it was important for Scholz to ensure gender equality among ministers, but declined to comment on a possibility of a wider cabinet reshuffle.
Lambrecht, 57, has been Minister of Defense since Scholz became Chancellor in December 2021. Critics have long portrayed her as out of her league. But Scholz stood by her, describing her last month as “a top-notch defense minister.” The pressure on her recently increased after a poorly reviewed New Year’s video message.
Lambrecht’s resignation comes at a sensitive time as Scholz is under increasing pressure to take another major step forward in Germany’s military aid to Ukraine by agreeing to supply Leopard 2 main battle tanks. Earlier this month, Germany agreed to supply 40 Marder armored personnel carriers and a Patriot air defense missile battery to Kiev.
Germany has provided substantial support to Ukraine in recent months, including howitzers, Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and the first of four IRIS-T surface-to-air missile systems. But critics, some within Germany’s governing coalition, have long complained about Scholz’s perceived hesitation to ramp up aid. Lambrecht was overshadowed on the matter by the Chancellor, who made most of the important announcements.
Lambrecht was then deputy to Minister of Finance Scholz before being appointed Minister of Justice in 2019. She was also Minister for Families and Women in the last months of the then government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
She was respected in those roles, but was widely regarded as one of the weakest links of the Scholz administration in the Defense Department.
The notoriously unwieldy department has a history of declining ministers’ reputations.
Its importance increased with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That led Scholz to announce a special fund of 100 billion euros ($108 billion) to upgrade Germany’s military, the Bundeswehr, which had suffered years of neglect and, in particular, aging, malfunctioning equipment.
Last month, Lambrecht rejected suggestions that the government had been too slow to kick-start spending. She said officials acted quickly, but that “projects like this should be carefully negotiated – this is taxpayers’ money.”
The minister was also criticized for the unfortunate communication, starting with an announcement in January 2022 that Germany would supply 5,000 military helmets to Ukraine as “a very clear signal that we are on your side”.
In April, she took her 21-year-old son on a military helicopter ride, which became public when he posted a photo to Instagram that appeared to have been taken by the minister himself. Her ministry said she applied for permission and paid the costs herself, but critics say it showed poor judgment.
An amateurish New Year’s video message posted on her own private Instagram account sparked new opposition calls for Lambrecht’s departure and tested the patience of political allies.
It showed a barely audible Lambrecht speech against a background of loud New Year’s fireworks in a Berlin street.
“A war is raging in the middle of Europe,” she said. “And connected to that, for me, were a lot of special impressions that I was able to get – lots and lots of encounters with interesting, wonderful people.”
