The Interior Minister of Lower Saxony succeeds Christine Lambrecht.
(Photo: IMAGO/localpic)
Berlin The previous Lower Saxony Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) is to become the new Federal Defense Minister. Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided on the 62-year-old to succeed Christine Lambrecht, who had resigned, according to party circles on Tuesday.
The Lower Saxon is considered a domestic political hardliner within the SPD. In 2017, he presented a paper on social-democratic domestic policy, which, among other things, provided for decisive action against terrorist threats, a significant increase in the number of staff in the federal police force and improved combating of cybercrime. The lawyer Pistorius has no experience with the Bundeswehr, apart from his military service in the early 1980s.
Lambrecht had asked the Chancellor to be dismissed on Monday after a term of office marked by mishaps and criticism. In a brief written statement, she cited the “months of media focus” on her person as the reason. As the “Spiegel” reports, Scholz had known about the defense minister’s intention to resign since January 3.
All the more surprising was the long impasse until the successor was named. Last Friday, the “Bild” newspaper first reported that Lambrecht wanted to throw down.
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Over the weekend and also on Monday morning, the chancellor avoided all inquiries on the subject during public appointments. Only on Monday afternoon, during a visit to the Hensoldt armaments company, did he say that he knew how things should continue in the Ministry of Defense and that the public would find out very soon.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht resigns
Typical for Scholz, the personnel decision was made in a small circle. According to party circles, only the Chancellor and the leaders of the party and SPD faction were involved. Scholz had already made a big secret of the names when setting up his cabinet.
Pistorius had actually been traded as a possible interior minister
Pistorius was repeatedly traded for ministerial posts in the federal government, but was actually considered more of a possible successor to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser if she becomes the top candidate for the state elections in Hesse and switches to state politics.
After the resignation of Andrea Nahles, Pistorius ran in 2019 in a duo with his party colleague Petra Köpping for the SPD federal presidency. Originally the two were given good chances, but in the course of the long application process the duo had no chance.
There was also speculation on Tuesday about Bundeswehr General Carsten Breuer as a possible Lambrecht successor. Breuer is commander of the Bundeswehr’s Territorial Command, which was set up in September. This is the highest command for Bundeswehr operations in Germany, for example in the event of a disaster. It also plans and coordinates the transfer of Bundeswehr units abroad or the transport of soldiers from NATO allies through Germany.
>> Read here: The biggest construction sites for the new leadership in the Ministry of Defense
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD), SPD leader Lars Klingbeil and the parliamentary state secretaries in the Ministry of Defense, Siemtje Möller and Thomas Hitschler, Chancellor Wolfgang Schmidt and the Federal Government Commissioner for the East, Carsten Schneider.
The future defense minister was actually seen more as a possible successor to the interior minister if she switched back to state politics.
(Photo: IMAGO/Future Image)
However, Heil had said on Monday evening on the ARD program “Hart aber fair” that he would like to be Minister of Labor and that he still had a lot planned in the office. Apparently, it wasn’t that easy to occupy the executive chair in the Ministry of Defence, which many consider to be an “ejection seat”. Lambrecht was – after Rupert Scholz (CDU), who was in office at the end of the 1980s – the Federal Defense Minister with the shortest term in office.
A full program awaits the new minister this week. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is coming to Berlin on Thursday. A day later, the Ukraine contact group wants to discuss further support services for the country attacked by Russia at the US air base in Ramstein.
Pistorius needs to speed up procurement
The German government is expected to take a position on the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine. Poland has promised Kyiv the delivery of German-made Leopard tanks, which the German government would have to agree to. The British want to deliver Challenger 2 main battle tanks.
>> Read here: Lambrecht is overwhelmed even with the resignation – a comment
The new defense minister must also rush the Bundeswehr back into national and alliance defense. Scholz has pledged to NATO to provide an operational armored division to secure the eastern flank by 2025. It is also important to order urgently needed ammunition and replacements for the military equipment that has been delivered to the Ukraine from the Bundeswehr stocks. A further acceleration of the procurement system is also one of the tasks of the new department head.
SPD politician Katarina Barley welcomed the decision. “The Bundeswehr deserves this and our country needs it in these difficult times,” said the Vice President of the European Parliament on Twitter. Pistorius is “one of our best”.
More: Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht resigns – ten lines to say goodbye