Press review tomorrow: “Scholz cannot afford a second mistake”

What are the top topics of tomorrow’s newspapers and how does the German daily press comment on these events? FOCUS online presents you with an overview of the opinions of the domestic press for the next day the evening before. You get the assessments from all over Germany from Freiburg to Hamburg and from Cottbus to Düsseldorf.

“Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” on Lambrecht’s resignation: “He cannot afford a second mistake”

5:24 p.m.: Christine Lambrecht made the best decision at the end. After a little over a year at the helm of the Defense Ministry, she too has realized what many of her subordinates, and not just them, have long known: that she is the wrong person for this office and the office is the wrong one for her. (…)

Especially if it is true that Lambrecht had been thinking about resigning for some time, it is difficult to understand why the chancellor and his party have needed days since the Berliner Spatzen first whistle to arrange the successor. (…) Rather, it seemed difficult to find a person who would meet all of the chancellor’s criteria, apparently including continued gender parity in the cabinet. Scholz himself is also under pressure: he cannot afford a second mistake.

“Heilbronner Voice” on Lambrecht’s resignation: “Specialist knowledge definitely an advantage”

5:19 p.m.: At least now it has become clear that one or the other ministerial office would definitely benefit from specialist knowledge. Party representation or gender issues should no longer play a role in such cases. One can perhaps allow oneself this luxury in largely insignificant government offices. But not where experts are crucial. And that’s exactly what the Ministry of Defense is asking for now. Appointing a non-partisan expert who has actually seen the inside of a barracks in front of his ministerial office would therefore send the right signal. But one that those responsible for government lack the courage to do.

“Westfälische Nachrichten” on Lambrecht’s resignation: “the real scandal in this inglorious cabinet piece”

5:18 p.m.: In recent years, the Bundeswehr has had to endure a number of defense ministers who have not been successful. The last ideal cast was Peter Struck. The Social Democrat left office in 2005. The result of the subsequent miscasting is a troupe that lacks pretty much everything. In peacetime, this did not bother anyone. Things have changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Against this background, the criticism of Lambrecht also affects the Chancellor: Olaf Scholz has let his hapless minister dabble in office for far too long. The turning point he proclaimed aptly describes the radically changed security situation in Europe under Putin. The real scandal in this inglorious cabinet piece is that the chancellor held on to his unsuitable party friend for far too long.

“Nordbayerischer Kurier” on Heil’s plans for an educational period: “Win-win situation for everyone”

5:17 p.m.: Heil makes an offer that can create a win-win situation for everyone: for the employees who are undergoing further vocational training, as well as for the companies who thus secure the skilled workers. And that ultimately helps society as a whole, because Germany’s economic strength rises and falls with the number of skilled workers.

“Frankenpost” on the Oxfam analysis and Davos: “Medium-sized companies are increasingly threatened with decline”

5:16 p.m.: It is a moral bankruptcy that about one in ten people on earth are starving. Oxfam’s analysis, according to which at least 1.7 billion workers live in countries where inflation is greater than wage growth, is also socially explosive. Because inflation not only eats away at the income of the poor, it also eats away at their souls. To make matters worse, even in many western countries, the middle class is increasingly threatened with decline. So there is no need to be surprised at the so often lamented polarization of society.

“Schwäbische Zeitung” on the Economic Forum in Davos: Not a single one from “good old Germany”

5:15 p.m.: The world is completely different for German companies. This can also be seen very clearly at the current World Economic Forum in Davos. While the flagship corporations of the former export world champion Germany have been able to successfully go about their business for decades, globalization is now becoming much more complicated. In the meantime, not a single one from “good old Germany” ranks among the top 100 companies by market value.

The global competition is getting bigger and bigger. More than ever, politicians must support their own companies and consistently strengthen Germany as a business location. In addition to a well-qualified workforce, these include above all competitive taxes. When it comes to foreign trade, Germany needs to become more pragmatic and a good deal more selfish. That means: Instead of “change through trade”, more trade for one’s own benefit – this primarily and most intensively with the friendly democracies, but not only.

Also read: SPD politician cashes in – Despite resignation, Lambrecht still collects up to 224,000 euros in salary