Lambrecht resigns: CDU expresses first successor preference – and puts pressure on Scholz

Created: 01/16/2023, 02:34 p.m

By: Andreas Schmid

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has officially resigned.

All information in the news ticker.

• Official: Lambrecht resigns

  – and complains about “media focus on my person”

• When will

  Lambrecht's successor

  be determined?

  Scholz wants to decide "promptly".

• Lambrecht resignation

  : The possible successors in the Ministry of Defense.

• This

  news ticker

  for

  Christine Lambrecht

  (SPD) is continuously updated.

Update from January 16, 1:32 p.m

.: The military commissioner Eva Högl is the top candidate for the Lambrecht successor.

There is encouragement for Högl from the CDU.

The defense policy spokesman for the Union faction, Florian Hahn, sees the military commissioner as a suitable minister.

"In the replacement, affinity to the troops, a high level of commitment and certain previous experience must play a decisive role," wrote the CDU politician on Twitter on Monday.

"Eva Högl would be suitable, for example." He called for the successor to be arranged immediately and not to follow the "SPD proportional representation".

more on the subject

Eva Högl as Lambrecht successor?

She's the Department of Defense favorite

Update from January 16, 12:47 p.m

.: The FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann calls for a quick decision about the Lambrecht successor.

"I now expect the Social Democrats to name a successor as soon as possible," the chairwoman of the Bundestag's Defense Committee told the newspapers of the Funke media group on Monday.

As prerequisites for the office, Strack-Zimmermann named assertiveness in the ministry and "above all understanding and heart for the soldiers".

The FDP politician herself had been named by some observers as a suitable candidate.

For this, however, the FDP would have to give up a ministry – an unrealistic scenario.

Update from January 16, 12:30 p.m

.: As usual, Christine Lambrecht should get a tattoo as a military farewell ceremony.

"I assume so," said Christian Thiels, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense at the federal press conference.

When will Lambrecht's successor be determined?

Scholz wants to decide "promptly".

Update from January 16, 12:04 p.m .:

The Lambrecht successor is still unclear.

Chancellor Scholz wants to decide "promptly".

Scholz accepted Lambrecht's request for her dismissal, said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann in Berlin.

"The Chancellor respects Ms. Lambrecht's decision and thanks her for the good work she has done as Minister of Defense during this difficult and challenging time," said Hoffmann.

"The Federal Chancellor will promptly submit a proposal for the replacement of the office to the Federal President."

After the resignation of Christine Lambrecht, Chancellor Scholz has to arrange the successor and faces a difficult task.

(Archive image) © Bernd Von Jutrczenka/dpa

According to information from the AFP news agency, no decision will be made on Monday about the replacement of the office.

This is expected by the middle of the week.

Update from January 16, 11:39 a.m

.: CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja calls for a quick replacement after the resignation of Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD).

"We would have expected Chancellor Olaf Scholz to make decisions here earlier," criticized the opposition politician on Monday on TV station Welt.

"We now need clarity and competence for the Bundeswehr quickly." The troops must know who is leading them.

For the upcoming armaments projects and the decisions about possible tank deliveries to Ukraine, a quick successor is needed.

Lambrecht resigned: fire on the eve of the decision?

Update from January 16, 10:55 a.m

.: One day before Lambrecht's resignation, there was said to have been a fire brigade in her apartment.

As the

reports, an Advent wreath caught fire.

However, Lambrecht himself is said to have prevented worse things from happening.

When the fire brigade arrived at the apartment because of "smoke development", everything had already been extinguished.

Update from January 16, 10:45 a.m

.: The Lambrecht successor is apparently no longer to be clarified today.

This is reported by the AFP news agency with reference to government circles.

Update from January 16, 10:30 a.m

.: With her resignation, Lambrecht now seems to have buried her political career.

Born in Mannheim, she has no mandate in the Bundestag and will probably withdraw from politics altogether.

Lambrecht had actually oracled about this step before the 2021 federal election, before she appointed Scholz to the ministry.

Official: Lambrecht resigns – and complains about “media focus on my person”

Update from January 16, 10:06 a.m .:

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) resigns.

She has asked Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to be dismissed, said the minister in a statement published by the Ministry of Defence.

"The media focus on my person for months hardly allows factual reporting and discussion about the soldiers, the Bundeswehr and security policy decisions in the interests of the citizens of Germany," writes Lambrecht accordingly.

"The valuable work of the servicewomen and men and the many motivated people in the business unit must be in the foreground.

That's why I decided to make my position available.” She thanks everyone “who is committed to our security every day and sincerely wishes them all the best for the future.” There were initially no details about successor plans.

In the end it was possibly one mistake too many: Christine Lambrecht's resignation as defense minister is official.

© Philipp Schulze/dpa

Update from January 16, 9.40 a.m .:

In the event of Lambrecht resigning, this would come at a bad time, according to the CDU foreign politician Roderich Kiesewetter.

"Ms. Lambrecht's decision is to be respected, but the timing, now before the international Ramstein meeting for Ukraine, is absolutely bad for the Bundeswehr, but also for Ukraine," Kiesewetter told Bayern 2 in the morning It's an absolute communication disaster that something like this gets out too early.” Many mistakes have been made in the past few months.

Lambrecht before resignation: The possible successors in the Ministry of Defense

Update from January 16, 8:20 a.m .:

The official resignation of Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht is apparently imminent this Monday.

This is reported, among other things, by the ARD, citing sources from the Ministry of Defense.

Accordingly, the resignation could only be made in writing for the time being.

On the other hand, it is not clear whether a successor will be named directly.

Possible candidates for the post in the Ministry of Defense are currently:

• Eva Högl, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces (SPD)

• Hubertus Heil, Federal Minister of Labor (SPD)

• Lars Klingbeil, party leader (SPD)

• Thomas Hitschler, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense (SPD)

We have summarized details on the successor candidates for you here.

Update from January 16, 6:38 a.m

.: After the reports of an imminent resignation by Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, it is eagerly awaited whether the minister or the government will clarify on Monday.

So far, Lambrecht, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the SPD have kept a low profile.

SPD party leader Lars Klingbeil only said on Sunday evening in the ZDF program “Berlin direct” that a decision would be made collectively.

"And we announce things when they need to be announced."

In the event that Lambrecht resigns, the chairman of the German Armed Forces Association, André Wüstner, calls for an assertive successor.

“He needs competence, he needs assertiveness.

He must be recognized across parties, and yes, he must also be able to integrate," said Wüstner on Sunday evening in ZDF's "heute journal".

He is facing an enormous challenge, the Ministry of Defense is already the most difficult ministry in the federal government, especially in times of war.

The head of the German Armed Forces Association, André Wüstner, calls for an assertive successor in the event that Lambrecht resigns (archive image) © Michael Kappeler/dpa

For the future, he sees it as "fundamentally important" that a new minister "clearly shows what the situation in the Bundeswehr is, how precarious it is," said Wüstner.

The new head of department would then have to take Parliament with him, “when it comes to reforms, changes in the Bundeswehr, and yes, also to investments”.

Will Secretary of Defense Lambrecht resign?

Scholz has a "women's problem"

Update from January 15, 10:01 a.m

.: Lambrecht is still silent on the speculation about his resignation, as is Scholz.

As now the

claims to have learned, Scholz wants to stick to his principle in the event of a possible replacement of her ministerial post: that at least half of his cabinet is female.

This "women's problem", as the

puts it, would mean that there would have to be a successor for the defense minister.

At the same time, Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP) said to the

on the subject : "The Federal Chancellor should not fill the Ministry of Defense, which is important for Germany's security, from an equal point of view according to gender, but only according to competence."

We have summarized for you here who is a possible Lambrecht successor.

Minister Lambrecht about to resign?

Söder puts pressure on and warns Scholz

First report from January 15th

: Berlin – What is the next step after Lambrecht's list of breakdowns with the Minister of Defense?

According to media reports, the SPD politician herself has decided to resign.

Speculations about possible Lambrecht successors are already running high

Now CSU boss Markus Söder joins the debate.

Lambrecht and Scholz (archive image from November 2022) © Bernd Elmenthaler/Imago

"A possible successor must be clarified immediately," said the Bavarian Prime Minister of the

on the case of Christine Lambrecht.

There shouldn't be any slack.

"And this time, competence must come before internal party proportional representation."

Lambrecht's resignation?

Scholz "overhears" journalists' questions

So far there has been no official confirmation of Lambrecht's withdrawal.

Questions from journalists were deliberately ignored by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Saturday (January 14) at the opening of a liquid gas terminal in Lubmin on the Baltic Sea.

Lambrecht has been criticized for months, the opposition Union had repeatedly asked for her resignation.

Critics accuse the minister of the sluggish start of procurement for the Bundeswehr or a lack of expertise, but her public appearance was also repeatedly criticized.

Traffic light coalition: The Scholz cabinet at a glance

View photo gallery

A photo of her son traveling in a Bundeswehr helicopter made negative headlines.

Most recently, a New Year's message spread on Instagram, in which she spoke about the Ukraine war accompanied by New Year's Eve fireworks, caused irritation.