German chancellor Olaf Scholz is under growing pressure to sack his defence minister after she published a new year’s video message mentioning the war in Ukraine as fireworks exploded behind her.
Christine Lambrecht, a member of Scholz’s Social Democratic party (SPD), was already facing heavy criticism from the German opposition for problems with defence procurement as well as a series of gaffes.
Her contentious message has deepened the pressure on Scholz to place a more credible figure at the helm of the defence brief at a time when his government is striving to dramatically overhaul its armed forces in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and recast the country’s place in the European security order.
In the video, posted on her Instagram account, Lambrecht said that the Ukraine conflict had led to “a lot of special experiences” and the chance for “many encounters with great and interesting people”. As she spoke, loud bangs and whistles from fireworks echoed around her, accompanied by blazing sirens, as Berlin’s notorious New Year’s Eve pyrotechnics got under way.
Johann Wadephul, the deputy parliamentary leader of the conservative opposition party the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), described the video as “disturbing”, telling the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung that it showed she did not have the right “attitude” for her office.
Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine said that the video was “inappropriate and embarrassing”.
The chair of the Bundestag’s defence committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of Scholz’s coalition partners the Free Democrats (FDP), described the setting as “somewhat unfortunate”.
Asked on Wednesday if Lambrecht still had Scholz’s trust, a spokesman for the chancellor said: “Yes, of course,” adding: “The chancellor works well with — and trusts — all cabinet colleagues. And of course that also applies to the minister who was mentioned.”
A spokesman for the defence ministry had previously stressed that the video was a “private” one, published on Lambrecht’s personal Instagram account, with “no official resources” used in its production.
Lambrecht has had a rocky time as defence minister since being appointed to the post just over a year ago when Scholz unveiled his cabinet after forming an unprecedented three-way coalition with the Greens and FDP.
In January 2022, at a time when Volodymyr Zelenskyy was begging the west to send heavy weapons, she was met with mockery and dismay in Kyiv after announcing that Germany would send 5,000 helmets. A few months later, she was forced to defend a decision to take her 21-year-old son on a military helicopter.
She has also had to grapple with defence procurement problems and bureaucratic delays that have cast a shadow over the government’s promised €100bn drive to modernise the Bundeswehr, the federal army, in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.
Last month, 18 German-made Puma tanks malfunctioned during a training exercise and had to be returned to their manufacturers.
