Germansplaining: Germany’s defence disaster
The New EuropeanJan 10, 2023
Germany's defense minister Christine Lambrecht resigned on Monday amid criticism of her handling of military support to Ukraine, communication blunders, and slow progress in implementing plans to rearm the country.
This comes as Berlin has been increasingly pressed to send German-built Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine or at least authorize their delivery from third countries such as Poland. Kyiv considers them essential in Ukraine's war effort against Moscow.
Lambrecht was evidently the wrong person for the job. She did not take the Ukraine war seriously enough and used a helicopter for personal use. Now that she has resigned, Chancellor Scholz may appoint a qualified minister that will help to revert decades of neglect for the German armed forces.
While Lambrecht has reportedly committed several gaffes during her term in the Scholz government, the main reason she came under fire was her hesitancy to ramp up defense aid to Ukraine as Berlin faces pressure from other NATO allies. Lambrecht was simply under immense political pressure from this simmering geopolitical conflict.
There's a 50% chance that Germany will elect a new Chancellor by May 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.