The chancellor and his SPD grief: Merz and Söder call for Lambrecht to be thrown out

Created: 04/01/2023 09:35

By: Christian Deutschländer, Alexander Schäfer

"How long?" The SPD Ministers Christine Lambrecht (right) and Nancy Faeser have come under criticism.

Lambrecht in particular can lose his job.

© dpa

The defense minister's series of breakdowns: Christine Lambrecht was "embarrassing", blasphemed CDU leader Merz.

He demands her quick release.

For the SPD in government, this is not the only personnel problem.

Berlin/Munich – Words are like spearheads.

"How long does the Chancellor actually want to look at this?" Asks Friedrich Merz.

"Every hour that Mrs. Lambrecht stays longer in office," weakens the chancellor's authority.

The CDU boss calls the SPD defense minister "embarrassing" and says she is "lacking any expertise".

"The whole of Germany just shakes its head" about them, and defense experts worldwide are "speechless".

Lambrecht was "completely overwhelmed".

SPD Defense Minister Lambrecht: CDU around Merz and Söder demand expulsion

Criticism of SPD members from the Union is not surprising, but the harshness of the opposition leader's choice of words is extraordinary.

In a double interview with our newspaper, Merz and Markus Söder settle accounts with the 57-year-old.

"She sticks more firmly to her office than some climate glue on the street," says the CSU leader.

She must “finally resign – or be fired.

Our soldiers did not deserve this minister.”

Superficially, it's about their New Year's video in the middle of whistling cheerful fireworks.

"A war is raging in the middle of Europe," she says, and then the strange sentence: "For me, this gave me a lot of special impressions that I was able to gain.

Many, many encounters with interesting, great people.”

Despite the breakdown show: Scholz defends Lambrecht

Unhappy to the point of lack of style, many complain.

Above all, the series causes concern - starting with the debates about Bundeswehr flights with the son, about breakdowns in the material, about initially half-hearted help ("5000 helmets") for Ukraine.

What is striking is that there is hardly any encouragement from the SPD.

Instead, MPs make it clear in a low voice or on Twitter that they are ashamed.

Calls for a cabinet reshuffle are being heard at the grassroots level.

Scholz has defended Lambrecht so far.

In mid-December he said she was a "first-rate Secretary of Defense".

His problem: The trouble is not over with a quick exchange.

Several red rulers cause him grief, but they can hardly all be replaced at the same time.

Among them are Karl Lauterbach, Klara Geywitz and, to a lesser extent, Nancy Faeser.

Others, such as Development Minister Svenja Schulze, remain pale.

Only Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil makes the comrades happy with minimum wage and citizens' allowance.

Chancellor Scholz and his SPD grief: Lauterbach and Geywitz do not deliver

The second largest personal mortgage for Scholz is undoubtedly Karl Lauterbach.

The health minister is considered by critics to be simply not a minister.

Scholz should have guessed that in autumn 2021.

But when the cabinet was formed, he gave in to loud calls for a corona crisis manager with specialist knowledge.

The former beacon of hope brought nurses, hospital representatives and most recently paediatricians against himself with his way of communication and his health policy plans.

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Klara Geywitz is also far behind the target.

The building minister promised to create 400,000 new homes every year.

It misses the target by more than 100,000 apartments.

This year, the deficit could be even larger.

The minister involuntarily delivered the symbolic image for her first year of work in September: when Geywitz presented her Japanese colleague with a miniature “sustainable house” made of wood, it fell apart.

Scholz and his ministries: Does Faeser force a cabinet reshuffle?

That leaves Nancy Faeser: With her actions against the Reichsbürger scene, the interior minister has scored plus points, but she has also been accused of staging herself.

The fact that she is flirting with a candidacy for the office of prime minister in Hesse does not strengthen her position in Berlin.

Perhaps Faeser will force a cabinet reshuffle.

What Scholz limits is his promise to fill his team equally.

"First and foremost, professional competence must play a role," warned Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmerman as early as 2021 on the subject of ministers.

You trust many of the defense department.

The catch: She is a member of the FDP.