BERLIN — A video address from Germany’s defense minister posted on social media Monday, shot on the streets of Berlin amid chaotic New Year’s celebrations, drew criticism for its tone-deaf message.
Christine Lambrecht reflected on a year that ended with “war raging in the middle of Europe,” barely audible above the sound of exploding fireworks.
The Ukrainian conflict had resulted in “a lot of special experiences” and “many encounters with great and interesting people,” Lambrecht said in a video posted on her personal Instagram account.
Lambrecht’s New Year’s address failed to “hit the right tone,” making the war sound like a “exciting professional experience,” according to the Tagesspiegel.
According to Bild, the minute-long message, which was recorded on a mobile phone, “shamed” Germany.
Lambrecht, a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, has come under fire in the media for her reaction to the Russian invasion and Germany’s slow support for Ukraine.
In January 2022, the minister was mocked for announcing that Germany would send 5,000 helmets to Kyiv, where the government was requesting heavy weapons to deter Moscow.
A spokesman for the defense ministry declined to comment on Lambrecht’s “private video” during a regular press conference. He would only say that “no official resources” were used to create the video.
After a two-year ban on fireworks due to the coronavirus pandemic, Germans took to the streets once more to set off thousands of rockets and firecrackers.
At the same time that the Ukrainian capital was the target of Russian airstrikes, the scenes in Berlin provided an uneasy backdrop for Lambrecht’s video.
This round of anarchic celebrations resulted in dozens of injuries and at least one death, with fireworks also aimed at emergency workers throughout Germany.
The scale of the chaos stunned and angered Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
Anyone who attacks police or rescue workers “must face the full force of the law,” she said.
Source: AFP