Germany's Federal Defence Minister, Christine Lambrecht, tendered her resignation to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday after she had come under increased scrutiny due to a series of blunders linked to her response to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Lambrecht's resignation comes after she was deemed by detractors to have not dealt well with the added pressure of the war in Ukraine, which engulfed defence ministries across Europe in 2022.
The German minister had already been criticised before the war broke out when she announced that Germany would be sending 5,000 military helmets to Ukraine, when their government was asking for 100,000 helmets and protective vests.
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However, it was her "insensitive" New Year's Eve address that seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. In a video posted online, she stated that the war had brought "a lot of special experiences" and a chance for "many encounters with great and interesting people," which was all set to a backdrop of fireworks.
As a result, the criticism left her no choice but to resign on Monday, with several names already being circulated to replace her. The New Statesman's International Editor, Jeremy Cliffe, revealed that Germany's current Labour Minister, Hubertus Heil, is among those rumoured to be in the running.
