Boris Pistorius: Will the minister pose a threat to Scholz?

The job at the top of the Department of Defense is traditionally considered one of the hardest in political Berlin. In the midst of a war in Europe, the demands are even higher. Boris Pistorius has been in office for almost 100 days – and is now the most popular politician in the country. Time for a balance sheet.

The Crucible

just has Pistorius passed a test by fire. The crisis team headed by him and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) organized the evacuation of German nationals from Sudan. “Without a breakdown, without any problem,” summed up the highly satisfied minister. The Bundeswehr took more than 700 people out of the crisis state, including members of other nations. Had the dangerous mission gone awry, Pistorius would have come under pressure as well.

Review: The moment of shock

It started with one wobbly: On January 17, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that the previous Minister of the Interior of Lower Saxony will succeed Christine Lambrecht in the Federal Ministry of Defence. The ministry is “a challenge even in times of peace,” said Pistorius in a first statement.

But especially in times when Deutschland “is involved in a war,” he continued – and thus caused a moment of shock: had Scholz appointed the next minister after Lambrecht without making a faux pas radar? Finally, despite military support for Ukraine, Germany is not at war with Russia. Pistorius quickly added an “indirect” – and got the curve.

Memories of Peter Struck

Since almost gaffe on the first day, the SPD politician is sure-footed, whether verbally or with sturdy shoes when visiting troops abroad. “He is the perfect combination of experience and openness, grounding and imagination, a sense of responsibility and generosity,” his former partner Doris Schröder-Köpf was able to whistle after him recently in the “Bild” newspaper.

To this hymn of praise the 63-year-old is not dependent on his ex at all. Pistorius has been very present since taking office and is well received. With his robust nature, Pistorius reminds some of the former Defense Minister Peter Struck (SPD).

Also read about the Bundeswehr:

The Lower Saxon finds clear words: on the huge problems of the troops, on the advantages of a general one conscriptionto the financial needs of the Bundeswehr, for which he calls for an additional ten billion euros a year despite the special pot of 100 billion euros in the budget.

Pistorius and the Ukraine

Lambrecht gave the impression of that Krieg and its consequences for Germany and the Bundeswehr. Pistorius cuts a better figure. Three weeks after taking office, he was already in Kiev. A trip that Scholz had needed almost four months for after Russia’s attack. But Pistorius also benefited from decisions made before his time. After the beginning of the war, the chancellor gradually felt his way forward to the most powerful weapon in the supply of weapons. In addition, Lambrecht seemed like an uninvolved person.

Shortly before the appointment of Pistorius had Scholz already decided to deliver infantry fighting vehicles and a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine. The internationally coordinated delivery of western battle tanks followed a few days after Pistorius took office. “Since he took office, Pistorius has not played any special role in military aid for Ukraine,” says CSU defense politician Florian Hahn. “He can’t wear a medal for that.”

The consuming debates about the support of the Ukraine Pistorius was spared the use of ever heavier weapons. When Poland recently wanted to hand over Mig-29 fighter jets from GDR stocks to Ukraine, the German government agreed within a day.

“Putztorius” in the ministry

Pistorius concedes in the management floor Inspector General Eberhard Zorn had to go, as did a state secretary and the head of the Bundeswehr Procurement Office, which was considered inefficient. The minister wants to cut dozens of management positions in his ministry with around 2,500 employees and set up a planning and management staff again to clean up the chronic chaos in the Bendlerblock. The press gave him the nickname “Putztorius” for his zest for action.

“Pistorius lives the turning point in the ministry, and he will enforce it at the cabinet table, I’m relatively sure of that,” says the chairwoman of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), who is satisfied with his current balance sheet. Scholz has a man in the government brought, “who, unlike his predecessor, does not allow himself to be kept on a short leash and who, unlike the Chancellor, is decisive,” adds the Scholz critic.

Old problems unsolved

Pistorius has a number of Issues inherited: lack of personnel in the troops, material bottlenecks that have been exacerbated by the Ukraine aid, an agonizingly long procurement of new equipment. Pistorius wants to accelerate purchasing – like his predecessors. “So far, however, not much has happened to eliminate deficiencies in the Bundeswehr: there are no contracts with industry, and ammunition is still a huge problem,” criticizes the CSU politician Hahn. “So far, not a single shot has been procured. After 100 days, Pistorius is more apparent than real. I give him a grade of 3.”

Best in class instead of a career break

The Department of Defense has a reputation for destroying rather than promoting political careers. Pistorius, however, catapulted the office to great size in a short time popularity. In the political barometer, he is at the top of the popularity scale – far ahead of Baerbock, Scholz, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) or the heads of the CDU and CSU, Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder. Pistorius is also best in class in the Germany trend: more than half of those entitled to vote are satisfied with his work. He is the only politician who has received more approval than rejection.

The better chancellor candidate?

What does that mean for a politician when he is two and a half years before the federal election is more popular than all potential chancellor candidates – including the incumbent and party colleague Scholz: would Pistorius be the better SPD chancellor candidate in 2025? Can he even become dangerous to Scholz?

In the moment not. Scholz is in the SPD undisputed, there is no doubt about his willingness to stand again. That could only change if he is caught stealing silver spoons in the Chancellery – or if the Bundestag committee of inquiry into the Warburg affair convicts him of lying. Then all eyes fell on Pistorius – if he hasn’t despaired of the many construction sites of the Ministry of Defense by then.

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