German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had promised that women would make up at least half of his cabinet, which means that, if German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht resigns, she will need to be replaced with a female candidate, according to the Bild.
The newspaper conducted a poll among 100,000 of its readers, which showed that 97% of respondents do not care whether Lambrecht is replaced by a man or a woman. At the same time, 79% said they believed that the new defense minister needs to have served in the German military.
According to the Bild newspaper, Lambrecht will resign on Monday.
On Friday, the Bild newspaper reported, citing sources, that Lambrecht had decided to resign from the post of defense minister at her own initiative. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the country's defense ministry told RIA Novosti that reports about Lambrecht’s possible resignation were "rumors."
Earlier this month, a new study conducted by the Institute for New Social Answers (INSA) showed that 64% of Germans want Lambrecht to resign and only 9% assess her performance in the post of defense minister as positive.
Lambrecht has come under fire on several occasions in recent months, including from coalition partners. The latest wave of criticism was associated with her New Year greetings, where, against the backdrop of festive fireworks, Lambrecht mentioned the situation in Ukraine, saying in this context that 2022 was full of "special experience" and meaningful encounters with a lot of interesting people.