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Germany’s defence minister resigns amid Ukraine criticism, ‘months of media focus on my person’
- Christine Lambrecht said that ‘months of media focus on my person’ stood in the way of a debate about the military and Germany’s security policy
- Critics have long portrayed her as out of her depth but Scholz stood by her, describing her last month as ‘a first-class defence minister’
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Germany’s much-criticised defence minister announced her resignation on Monday, as her department steers the massive project of modernising the country’s military and oversees expanding weapons deliveries to Ukraine.
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Christine Lambrecht said in a statement that she had submitted her resignation request to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, adding that “months of media focus on my person” had stood in the way of a factual debate about the military and Germany’s security policy.
“The valuable work of the soldiers and many people in my department must stand in the foreground,” she said.
Scholz has accepted Lambrecht’s resignation and “accepts the decision”, a government spokesperson said on Monday, adding that he would soon propose a successor to Germany’s president.
The 57-year-old has been defence minister since Scholz became chancellor in December 2021. Critics have long portrayed her as out of her depth but Scholz stood by her, describing her last month as “a first-class defence minister”. Pressure on her mounted recently after an ill-judged New Year’s video message.
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