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The FDP MP Alexander Müller in the Bundestag
Photo: IMAGO/Christian Spicker
It was only on Friday that Marcus Faber had offered his post as defense policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group after a botched committee meeting.
Now he is being succeeded by his liberal party colleague Alexander Müller.
Faber resigned after controversial statements about an appearance by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in the defense committee.
Müller, who is also FDP chairman on the committee, has now taken over the office at a unanimous proposal by the parliamentary group executive, as the dpa news agency learned.
Faber and three colleagues left a defense committee meeting on Friday before the official end and criticized Scholz for having had a chance to declare himself on Ukraine.
»Unfortunately, many answers were not given.
I hope that we can catch up on this, "he then wrote on Twitter and repeated his criticism of Scholz in a TV interview.
The committee chair Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) had invited Scholz.
Faber then caught harsh criticism from his own ranks for his words.
Faber later rowed back and announced that he had left the meeting early because of follow-up appointments.
"Unusual"
Strack-Zimmermann expressed his surprise at Faber's actions.
Compared to the "Rheinische Post", she rated leaving the meeting as "unusual".
She added, "I confess I was busy chairing the session and didn't realize it."
That evening Faber offered to withdraw.
"Today's defense committee's comment was inappropriate and did not do justice to the seriousness of the situation," wrote Faber on Twitter.
"I apologize for that and will offer my group on Tuesday, at their next meeting, to step down from my post as spokesman."
mrc/dpa