Berlin.
The chancellor has tolerated his defense secretary’s glitches for too long. He also came under pressure when it came to supplying battle tanks.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is in an unenviable position. He took office with the motto “Anyone who orders leadership from me will get it”. The chancellor failed to live up to this claim on two central points. Scholz is on the defensive in leading the Ministry of Defense and Germany’s positioning on the tank issue.
The occupation of the department by Christine Lambrecht (SPD) turned out to be a completely wrong decision, which now falls back on the head of government. When the Social Democrats began their work in December 2021, the chancellor gave her pompous advance praise: she would be “a very, very special defense minister in the Federal Republic of Germany,” he prophesied.
In retrospect, one has to say: Lambrecht never arrived in office
A blatant mistake. Lambrecht had no specialist knowledge and was never really interested in the admittedly complicated subject matter in the department. Looking back, you have to say that she never got into her job. It is true that the defense ministers of the Union have left a heavy burden in Angela Merkel’s 16-year chancellorship – the Bundeswehr has been cut to pieces, bureaucracy got the upper hand, the procurement of weapons turned out to be a stray in the Bermuda Triangle. But it’s no use just pointing the finger at our predecessors.
With a view to the Ukraine war, Lambrecht did not have a stringent course. Sometimes she justified the reluctance to deliver German weapons with the necessary secrecy. Sometimes she asserted that the clammy Bundeswehr could not hand over any military equipment.
Scholz accepted Lambrecht’s loss of reputation with his eyes wide open
The bankruptcies and mishaps that lined her path in the Bendler block are just symptoms of a lack of military aptitude. The announced shipment of only 5,000 protective helmets for the Ukraine shortly before the start of the Russian invasion is just as much a part of this as the helicopter flight with her son to visit the troops followed by a vacation on Sylt or the highly embarrassing video on New Year’s Eve.
The chancellor watched for too long. He let things slide and fully accepted Lambrecht’s loss of reputation. Misunderstood loyalty on the part of the minister and stubbornness – Scholz reacts allergically to pressure from outside – may have been behind it. The chancellor must now urgently name the best man or woman to succeed him in the important office. It’s about qualifying before anything else.
Scholz was also under pressure to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine
Parallel to the Lambrecht case, Scholz was also under pressure to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine. His maxim not to go it alone on this sensitive issue was and is correct. Decisions about war and peace require prudence – and international coordination.
But Moscow has brutally expanded its war of aggression against Ukraine. Russian troops are bombing power plants, power lines and homes with increasing destructiveness. There is speculation that the President will soon mobilize 500,000 additional reservists for a spring offensive.
The chancellor cannot afford to refuse export approval
If Ukraine – as Washington, Brussels and Berlin often claim – defends the values of the West, it needs battle tanks. The British will soon be delivering their Challenger 2 machines. The Americans are considering shipping their Abrams tanks. Poland and Finland are pushing for German Leopard 2 main battle tanks to be sent to Kyiv. Given the dynamics of the war, the chancellor cannot afford to refuse permission for this.
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