Germany: Bad video greeting weakens defense minister a little more

Already weakened by blunders, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht came under fire again on Monday after broadcasting her fireworks parasitic wishes and deemed inappropriate remarks about the war in Ukraine. The video is only about a minute long, but was deemed so unfortunate that the Social Democrat minister was once again the target of calls for resignation from the conservative opposition and the German media.

The minister appears there, in the middle of wind-tossed Berlin, evoking the war in Ukraine between two explosions of firecrackers and fireworks, especially popular with the Germans at New Year’s celebrations.

“A war is raging in the center of Europe. I was able to draw a lot of special impressions from him,” the minister also says on the topic of the Russian invasion, meaning “many, many meetings with interesting and wonderful people.” “For this I thank you very much.”

“Just embarrassing”

“Doubts about his suitability for this position have existed for a long time. The time has come for the chancellor to draw a conclusion about the consequences,” the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel criticized on Monday.

“A New Year’s speech, recorded on a mobile phone and barely intelligible due to fireworks and the lack of a microphone on the Berlin sidewalk, would have already embarrassed the mayor of the volunteer village – the Minister of Defense of a NATO member, just a shame,” Bild, the most widely read daily newspaper in the country, is indignant.

In 2022, the minister has accumulated frustrations that regularly draw ridicule and criticism, such as when she announced she was sending thousands of helmets to Ukrainians, who instead expect Germany to supply heavy weaponry.

“Trouble Series”

Christine Lambrecht also personified in the eyes of the Ukrainian regime, as well as the Germans, the shortcomings of an army whose equipment was outdated. Thus, in mid-December, Berlin had to suspend new orders for Puma armored vehicles after a series of breakdowns that affected armored vehicles already in service with the army.

Greeting the minister with New Year’s firecrackers in the background only “ends her series of predicaments,” denounces Serap Guler, who is in charge of defense affairs at the CDU. Supporting his minister, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, “Does he really care about Germany’s influence on Europe and the world? “Adds Armin Laschet, unsuccessful candidate in 2021 to replace Angela Merkel.