Olaf Scholz will have finally surprised everyone. After three days of intense speculation on the name of the new Minister of Defense to replace Christine Lambrecht, who resigned, the German Chancellor chose, on Tuesday 17 January, a candidate far from the front ranks of federal political life: the Social Democrat (SPD) Boris Pistorius, 62, for ten years Regional Interior Minister of the Land of Lower Saxony. Until now little known to the general public, it is to him that will return the heavy task of carrying out the great reform of the Bundeswehr, the German army, at a crucial moment in its history.
Questioned on Tuesday afternoon, the person concerned stated that he had been ” very surprised “ of the Chancellor’s call, which only came on Monday, the very day of Christine Lambrecht’s resignation. Mr. Pistorius, obviously a second choice, was not on any of the lists of names mentioned in the press over the weekend.
His appointment breaks, probably for a long time, gender parity within the government, a great promise of Olaf Scholz. The Chancellor apparently had to do so at the risk of criticism in his party and among his environmental allies. On Tuesday, he greeted a man who brings “a lot of experience in security”as well as “strength and calm” necessary for the function. Mr. Pistorius said he accepted ” with great pleasure “ the mission offered by Olaf Scholz, promising to invest in « 150 % ».
Given the difficulty of the task, motivation was an essential prerequisite for this position. The Ministry of Defense is traditionally the unloved child of German politics. Its leaders generally spend short periods there, which rarely lead to a great career. The institution suffers from structural weaknesses: reputed to be extremely bureaucratic, influenced by the logic of military hierarchy, its management is considered to be very delicate.
Change of era
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the ministry has nevertheless had to undergo a revolution, becoming one of the nerve centers of government action. This is where the great project announced by Olaf Scholz during his speech on the « turning point » (the change of era) on February 27, 2022, which ended decades of German defense and security restraint.
These are 100 billion euros of special funds which have been granted to the Bundeswehr, in order to compensate for more than two decades of under-investment in the defense apparatus. But it is already clear that this sum will not be enough. Eva Högl, Bundestag delegate for military affairs, whose name has been circulating to take over from Christine Lambrecht, said a tripling of this sum was necessary “to develop the army in a significant way”. More often than not, it is less a question of gaining power than of making up for glaring shortcomings – lack of ammunition, basic equipment, seriously dysfunctional equipment – so that Germany can honor its international commitments and above all cope with new threat.
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