Why Lambrecht is becoming a problem for Scholz

Created: 01/02/2023Updated: 01/02/2023 2:43 p.m

By: Sebastian Horsch

Germany's Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht once again made a mistake, comments Sebastian Horsch.

© IMAGO / Bernd Elmenthaler

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht once again makes an embarrassing appearance.

For Chancellor Olaf Scholz, this is becoming an increasing problem, comments Sebastian Horsch.

It is said that you learn from damage.

That does not seem to apply to Christine Lambrecht, however.

The defense minister from the SPD falls from blunder to blunder.

As Minister of Justice, still under Chancellor Angela Merkel, Lambrecht was hardly noticed in public.

As Defense Minister, she not only seems overwhelmed by the major challenges in the wake of the "turning point" proclaimed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz - she also repeatedly allows herself to be embarrassed.

If the preliminary high point on the foreign shame scale so far was a flight with her son in the Bundeswehr helicopter to Sylt, now follows an abstruse New Year's Eve video in which Lambrecht rants about "war" and "interesting people" – it's almost all drowned out from the rocket fire in the background.

It could hardly be more inappropriate.

That such a weak minister should remain in office is absurd

For Scholz, Lambrecht is increasingly becoming a problem with her performances.

A department head with weak technical skills may come in handy for the chancellor – so he can steer the German course himself without being disturbed.

But the chancellor can hardly afford a minister who embarrasses Germany.

His government is already being viewed critically by Kyiv and international partners because of its hesitation in supporting Ukraine.

What protects Lambrecht is also the parity that the chancellor has imposed on himself.

His cabinet should be made up of equal numbers of men and women.

So Scholz would either have to find a successor for Lambrecht again, or replace another minister with a woman instead.

With all the right support for equal opportunities, the fact that such a weak minister should remain in office in the current situation is perhaps the most absurd thing about the whole story.