Lambrecht is still under pressure – Scholz and Klingbeil are behind her

Created: 05/14/2022, 16:24

By: Kim Hornickel

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht continues to be criticized for a helicopter flight with her son - polls evaluate calls for his resignation differently.

Berlin – SPD Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has been criticized for a service flight that her son Alexander (21) was on board.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) rejects calls for his resignation and supports his minister.

Scholz told the news portal t-online that he believes in a short media echo that will soon fade.

Instead of supporting demands for his resignation, he sees a reformer of the Bundeswehr in Lambrecht: "I am very sure: If you look back at the election period in three years, it will say: She is the defense minister who finally made sure that the Bundeswehr was properly equipped is,” said the Federal Chancellor.

Klingbeil on a business trip: "Lambrecht is Minister of Defense and she will remain so"

SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil also encouraged Lambrecht and told the editorial network Germany that Lambrecht “is Defense Minister and she will remain so”.

You must now turn the tide in the Bundeswehr, which has been run down for 16 years.

Lambrecht has been criticized for traveling with her son in a government helicopter to visit troops in Schleswig-Holstein.

Afterwards she went on vacation with her son on Sylt.

According to the Federal Ministry of Defense, such a journey is permitted as long as the costs are borne privately.

Lambrecht had therefore taken over the costs “to 100 percent”.

Christine Lambrecht (SPD) repeatedly has to justify taking her son on a business trip.

© Britta Pedersen/dpa/archive image

Lambrecht: Polls evaluate demands for resignation from the population differently

Despite the backing of her own party and attempts to explain herself publicly, Christine Lambrecht has struggled with a loss of face among some of the electorate since the incident.

The percentage of citizens calling for Lambrecht's resignation differs significantly.

An Insa survey commissioned by the Bild newspaper showed that a majority of 55 percent of those questioned were in favor of Lambrecht's resignation.

Only 19 percent want Lambrecht to remain in office.

A survey by the opinion research start-up Civey sees things quite differently.

In the study for the Welt television channel, 48 percent of those surveyed see no reason for Lambrecht to resign.

The Minister of Defense herself commented again on her son's flight in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

She can "understand that this is causing criticism" and will "make sure that there is no longer any reason for such allegations," she told the newspaper.

She always "meticulously" makes sure "that everything runs correctly and in accordance with the rules and that I always bear the costs when my son accompanies me".

(kh/afp)