ZDF Talk: "lance": Why Lambrecht failed as Secretary of Defense

With a late New Year’s Eve bang, SPD politician Christine Lambrecht vacated her post on Monday Secretary of Defense the traffic light coalition. Now her successor has been determined: her party colleague Boris Pistorius will do the job. ZDF changed its program specifically for this purpose on Tuesday. And Markus Lanz’s talk show in the evening is mainly about the Ministry of Defense and the challenges that Pistorius awaits there.

“Markus Lanz” – These were the guests:

Right from the start, however, it becomes apparent who will take up much more space in the discussion: the divorced defense minister herself. The group seems to agree: Lambrecht missed too much in her post. In between there were minor scandals such as her son flying in a military helicopter and now the failed New Year’s Eve video, in which she told about her interesting encounters in the Ukraine war in front of a Berlin firecracker backdrop. More on the subject: This is what Ukraine is asking of the new defense minister

Mockery at “Lanz”: “More generals than moving tanks”

“The key moment was when she 5000 helmets as a delivery to an invaded country as a military-historical achievement,” concludes journalist Nikolaus Blome. The military expert Sönke Neitzel, on the other hand, started much earlier: It was irresponsible to even put someone like Lambrecht in the post. Also read: “Markus Lanz”: New Year’s Eve debate with new insights

Armaments experts had initially placed their hopes in the lawyer. Lambrecht could have cleaned up and started major reforms, according to Neitzel: a critical inventory of the Bundeswehr, clean-up work at the 15,000-strong Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw) in Koblenz, the reestablishment of the armed forces.

Because the structures in the Bundeswehr are in a powerful imbalance: to 182,000 professional soldiers 300,000 to 400,000 generals would come, explains FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. “These are more generals than moving tanks,” scoffs journalist Blome.

By the way tank: The fact that Lambrecht had little to do with tanks in her career was apparently not the problem for her failure. Neitzel admits that, with a few exceptions, there have always been people in the Ministry of Defense who have no military expertise. But even after a year, there were still no proposed solutions to old problems, according to the military historian: “Ms. Lambrecht’s problem is that she hasn’t familiarized herself with it.” Also interesting: “Anne Will”: Thunberg attacks the Greens – “hypocritical”

“Markus Lanz”: FDP politician defends ex-minister

On the other hand, more understanding words are found Strack Zimmermann. She chairs the Defense Committee, which makes decisions on defense policy and the armed forces. Lambrecht recently felt like he was being hunted by the media, explains Strack-Zimmermann. “And she was, even if she would have had to admit her own mistakes, of course.” Read here: Oil sanctions hurt Putin: huge hole in the war chest

Then Strack-Zimmermann explains external influences that would have presented Lambrecht with great challenges: the Ukraine war, the renewed public interest in external security, the failures of the last government. The problem got already below Angela Merkel initiated, according to Strack-Zimmermann. “Anyone who takes over this store today has an incredible amount to clean up.”

“Markus Lanz”: Politician rebukes moderator

Is Boris Pistorius the right person for this? Nobody seems to want to decide on this question on Tuesday evening – except for moderator Markus Lanz. He tries again and again to present Strack-Zimmermann as perfect candidate to stylize for the post. But she doesn’t want to play the game. Read more: End of parity in the cabinet: Greens are irritated

“They want the headline tomorrow: ‘Strack-Zimmermann: I would have been better,'” the politician replies cynically. In fact, she can’t be elicited much more: she finds the decision for Pistorius “interesting”, as Lower Saxony’s interior minister, the SPD has access to internal security and police apparatus. Above all, however, she would like him to represent the interests of the Bundeswehr, says Strack-Zimmermann.

Blome is also hesitant: “The Lower Saxony police force isn’t about Leopard tanks,” he interjects. The Ministry of Defense needs someone who controls the administration and uses the large amount of money from the special fund properly. That also finds military expert Neitzel: “Defense must be a cabinet project,” he says. Also interesting: Politician and Pistorius ex: This is Doris Schröder-Köpf

After particularly large anticipation it does not look to the new Secretary of Defense. Or maybe, given the Department of Defense’s past, it’s time for some sober realism.

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