German defence minister resigns after months of criticism

Germany’s embattled defence minister, who was criticised over the pace of a massive project to modernise the military and for Berlin’s stuttering response to the Ukraine war, has resigned.

Christine Lambrecht said in a written statement on Monday that “months of media focus on my person” had stood in the way of a factual debate about the military and Germany’s security policy.

“The valuable work of the soldiers and many people in my department must stand in the foreground,” she said.

Pressure on Lambrecht mounted recently after an ill-judged New Year’s video message.

Posted on Instagram, it showed a barely audible Lambrecht speaking as New Year’s Eve revellers celebrated with fireworks behind her on a Berlin street.

“A war is raging in the middle of Europe,” she said. “And connected with that for me were a lot of special impressions that I was able to gain – many, many meetings with interesting, great people.”

A spokesperson for Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he had accepted Lambrecht’s resignation and a replacement would be announced soon.

The 57-year-old had been in her post since Scholz became chancellor in December 2021. Both are members of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD).“That person is going to have to get up to speed pretty quickly in so far as the war in Ukraine and Germany’s contributions to Ukraine are concerned,” Kane said.