VDefense Minister Christine Lambrecht has countered speculation about a move to another cabinet post during this term. “I’ve taken on the job of Secretary of Defense. And anyone who knows me knows that I also fulfill the tasks I have taken on,” said the SPD politician to the news portal “t-online” when asked whether she ruled out such a change. Referring to a statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), she emphasized: “My goal at the end of the electoral term is that, looking back, you can say: You finally made sure that the Bundeswehr is properly equipped.”
Lambrecht has been criticized for a long time, most recently because her son flew in a government helicopter. CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz called on Scholz to dismiss Lambrecht in the Bundestag on Thursday. In the interview, she was asked about speculation that Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser could stand as the SPD’s top candidate in the state elections in Hesse next year – and that Lambrecht could move to her cabinet post.
“I’m counting on Nancy Faeser not only becoming the top candidate, but also the first female Prime Minister in Hesse,” said the Defense Minister. She said about herself: “I accepted the challenge of finally equipping the Bundeswehr properly… I will also fulfill this task.”
“I will handle this differently in the future”
Lambrecht took her 21-year-old son with him in a government helicopter to a military visit in northern Germany in mid-April, without him taking part in the military visit himself. The next day and after an overnight stay in a hotel, the car and bodyguards drove to the nearby island of Sylt. In the interview, she again expressed understanding for criticism. “I will handle this differently in the future and organize my appointments differently. But it remains important to me that everything was legally correct and that all rules were observed.
Almost a week ago, in view of the criticism about taking her son with him, she said to the FAZ: “Not only as a lawyer do I of course pay meticulous attention to ensuring that everything is done correctly and in accordance with the rules and that I always bear the costs when my son accompanies me. The little time I have with him is particularly important to me. But I can understand that this causes criticism and I will ensure that there is no more reason for such allegations.
On the other hand, she defended the balance sheet of her first months as Minister of Defense: She had “implemented a lot in a very short time”. Lambrecht referred, among other things, to the decision to arm Bundeswehr drones and to the fact that in future 20 percent of all orders from the Bundeswehr would no longer go through a bureaucratic procurement process.