After her New Year’s Eve performance, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht is under heavy fire – especially from the Union.Image: dpa / Kay Nietfeld
Germany
It cracks and thunders. Rockets explode in the night sky, colorful sparks can be seen. In the middle is Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), somewhere in Berlin – and gives her New Year’s speech.
“Madness. What is satire allowed to do?”, CDU politician Serap Güler asked herself on Twitter about Lambrecht’s appearance. Because many Twitter users not only rate the setting for the speech as inappropriate – but also the content of their speech.
One point of criticism: Lambrecht speaks, for example, of the war in Europe and that she had special impressions and encounters in 2022. Güler continues to write on Twitter:
“The Federal Minister of Defense could really have done without this video. It’s incredibly inappropriate.”
CDU politician Güler indirectly calls for Lambrecht’s resignation
According to her, Lambrecht has “no sense of proper communication.” The speech only crowned her “series of embarrassments”. Güler indirectly calls on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to dismiss the SPD politician: “Every additional minute in which the Federal Chancellor still holds on to this minister and thus further damages the reputation of our country goes to his account.” She is worried about it and wonders who should take Germany so seriously.
Also the press spokesman of the CDU-Saxony, Paul Schäfer, hits Lambrecht’s appearance on the stomach. In his opinion, the defense minister lacks “any sense and dignity for her office”.. He criticizes the fact that she speaks of war in Europe while thunder is pounding in the background.
Lambrecht talks about the war and firecrackers bang in the background
This point has been criticized several times. Also with the Ukraine correspondent of the ARD, Vassili Golod. On Twitter he writes:
“While Russia is firing missiles and combat drones at Ukraine, the Federal Minister of Defense is recording a New Year’s message – with banging cannons and fireworks in the background.”
Viewed from Kyiv, Golod finds this almost cynical, or at least incompetent.
“It’s so unbearably insensitive,” criticized security expert Ulrike Franke from the Berlin think tank “European Council on Foreign Relations” on Twitter. War is raging in Europe and Lambrecht talks about meeting great people. “Have they lost their minds in Berlin?” asks Franke.
CDU politician Laschet criticizes Lambrecht
Ex-CDU leader Armin Laschet agreed with the verdict: “Does the Chancellor really care about Germany’s impact in Europe and the world?”
In the current situation, “we can’t afford this lady in the Defense Ministry,” tweeted historian and Eastern Europe expert Jan Behrends, referring to Lambrecht’s New Year’s speech. The Chancellor must “act in the interests of the country and the alliance”.
Neither the Ministry of Defense nor Lambrecht have commented on the harsh criticism.
Due to the sharp rise in energy prices, the Bundestag has decided on a price cap for gas. In particular, private households and small and medium-sized companies should be relieved in the new year. Gas prices have skyrocketed because of the Russian war of aggression and the associated sanctions.
