The question of who will succeed Christine Lambrecht as defence minister remains open, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz is silent after several media reports that the minister plans to step down.
While neither Lambrecht nor the federal government officially confirmed the planned withdrawal so far, several German media reported on Friday and Saturday that the Social Democrat (SPD) minister could step down as early as Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The step comes after a series of blunders, the latest of which was a much-criticised Instagram video she posted as a New Year’s greeting, in which she spoke of the war in Ukraine as an occasion for herself to “gain many special impressions and meet many interesting and amazing people.”
Chancellor and Lambrecht’s party colleague Scholz has so far remained silent on the matter.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear who would replace Lambrecht. Should Scholz try to uphold the current gender parity within the cabinet, Eva Högl, the current Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, is seen by analysts as a likely candidate who could bring to the office the military expertise Lambrecht has been criticised as lacking.
If not, current SPD party chief Lars Klingbeil could be another potential candidate.
According to sources cited by Spiegel, Lambrecht had initially planned to announce her withdrawal on Monday but was preempted by the information being leaked to the media. The magazine reported that even high-ranking SPD party members and senior defence ministry officials were taken by surprise.
(Julia Dahm | EURACTIV.de)
Source: euractiv.com
