Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was sworn in as Germany's new defense minister on Wednesday morning at a special session of the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag.

The ceremony itself had a makeshift air about it. German lawmakers were called in from their summer holidays to attend the ceremony, with some opposition members grumbling at the fact that attendance had been made obligatory (with non-attendees forced to pay a fine). Others also pointed out the cost of the extra session — estimated at €100,000 ($112,000).

The swearing-in took place in a provisional plenary hall rather than the main chamber, which is being renovated over the summer break.

In a speech, Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasized the special bond between the Bundestag and the German military, which requires parliamentary approval before any foreign mission.

The new minister has already called for an increase to the defense budget, a controversial demand for the junior partners of the government coalition, the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

The defense minister's seat was abruptly vacated last week, when the incumbent Ursula von der Leyen was elected as the new European Commission president by the European Parliament.

Kramp-Karrenbauer was a surprising choice for the post, given she has only recently been elected leader of Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and had repeatedly promised that she would concentrate on reinvigorating the party ahead of crucial regional elections in the fall.

In the meantime, though, the CDU leadership appears to have decided that the 56-year-old former state premier of Saarland did need federal government experience after all. With the CDU still polling as Germany's biggest party, Kramp-Karrenbauer is currently in pole position to succeed Merkel as chancellor. </s> Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was sworn in as Germany's new defense minister on Wednesday morning at a special session of the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag.

The ceremony itself had a makeshift air about it. German lawmakers were called in from their summer holidays, with some opposition members grumbling at the fact that attendance had been made obligatory (with non-attendees forced to pay a fine). Others also pointed out the cost of the extra session — estimated at €100,000 ($112,000).

The swearing-in took place in a provisional plenary hall rather than the main chamber, which is being renovated over the summer break.

In her speech, Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasized the special bond between the Bundestag and the German military, which requires parliamentary approval before any foreign mission.

The new minister also hit all the important notes in her declaration. She promised to bolster defense cooperation within the European Union, and repeated her calls to increase the German defense budget, a controversial demand for some in the Social Democratic Party (SPD, the junior partners in the government coalition,

But the US and other NATO partners have long demanded that Germany boost defense spending to meet the alliance's target of spending 2% of GDP on defense.

"I am committed to the government's target of 2%, a target that all allies have repeatedly agreed to," Kramp-Karrenbauer said in her speech. The government's current defense budget plans would see Germany reach 1.5% by 2024, but its rhetoric in the past few years has been about increasing its responsibility abroad.

"For a long time, perhaps too long, we believed that the world around us would become more and more peaceful, and the order more stable," the new minister said. "Developments in the last few years have shown that was deceptive. That's why we have now flipped the switch."

She went on to promise that Bundeswehr soldiers would be provided with enough equipment and training hours, a sore point over the past few years, which have seen several reports that the German military equipment is short of spare parts.

The defense minister's seat was abruptly vacated last week, when the incumbent Ursula von der Leyen was elected as the new European Commission president by the European Parliament.

Kramp-Karrenbauer was a surprising choice to take over, given she has only recently been elected leader of Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and had repeatedly promised that she would concentrate on reinvigorating the party ahead of crucial regional elections in the fall.

In the meantime, though, the CDU leadership appears to have decided that the 56-year-old former state premier of Saarland did need federal government experience after all. With the CDU still polling as Germany's biggest party, Kramp-Karrenbauer is currently in pole position to succeed Merkel as chancellor.

In the hour-long debate after Kramp-Karrenbauer's speech, opposition members lost no time accusing the CDU of using the defense ministry as a training ground for a chancellor-in-waiting.

"The CDU is the biggest threat to our security," said Rüdiger Lucassen, of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), before dismissing Kramp-Karrenbauer as a "security policy novice."

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was sworn in as Germany's new defense minister on Wednesday morning at a special session of the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag.

The ceremony itself had a makeshift air about it. German lawmakers were called in from their summer holidays, with some opposition members grumbling at the fact that attendance had been made obligatory (with non-attendees forced to pay a fine). Others also pointed out the cost of the extra session — estimated at €100,000 ($112,000).

The swearing-in took place in a provisional plenary hall rather than the main chamber, which is being renovated over the summer break.

In her speech, Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasized the special bond between the Bundestag and the German military, which requires parliamentary approval before any foreign mission.

Bolstering the defense budget

The new minister also hit all the important notes in her declaration. She promised to bolster defense cooperation within the European Union, and repeated her calls to increase the German defense budget, a controversial demand for some in the Social Democratic Party (SPD, the junior partners in the government coalition,

But the US and other NATO partners have long demanded that Germany boost defense spending to meet the alliance's target of spending 2% of GDP on defense.

"I am committed to the government's target of 2%, a target that all allies have repeatedly agreed to," Kramp-Karrenbauer said in her speech. The government's current defense budget plans would see Germany reach 1.5% by 2024, but its rhetoric in the past few years has been about increasing its responsibility abroad.

"For a long time, perhaps too long, we believed that the world around us would become more and more peaceful, and the order more stable," the new minister said. "Developments in the last few years have shown that was deceptive. That's why we have now flipped the switch."

She went on to promise that Bundeswehr soldiers would be provided with enough equipment and training hours, a sore point over the past few years, which have seen several reports that the German military equipment is short of spare parts.

Experience counts after all

The defense minister's seat was abruptly vacated last week, when the incumbent Ursula von der Leyen was elected as the new European Commission president by the European Parliament.

Kramp-Karrenbauer was a surprising choice to take over, given she has only recently been elected leader of Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and had repeatedly promised that she would concentrate on reinvigorating the party ahead of crucial regional elections in the fall.

In the meantime, though, the CDU leadership appears to have decided that the 56-year-old former state premier of Saarland did need federal government experience after all. With the CDU still polling as Germany's biggest party, Kramp-Karrenbauer is currently in pole position to succeed Merkel as chancellor.

In the hour-long debate after Kramp-Karrenbauer's speech, opposition members lost no time accusing the CDU of using the defense ministry as a training ground for a chancellor-in-waiting.

"The CDU is the biggest threat to our security," said Rüdiger Lucassen, of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), before dismissing Kramp-Karrenbauer as a "security policy novice."

The Green party's Agnieszka Brugger made the same point in her equally critical remarks. "This office is too important to just be a way station for people who see themselves on the way up," she told the chamber. What the military needs, she said, was political leadership that "dedicates itself unglamorously and solidly to the Bundeswehr's immense problems."

Brugger also argued that the German military's problems wouldn't be solved with money, pointing out that the German defense budget had already risen by €10 billion since 2014 (from €32 billion to €42 billion).

For the sharp-eared political pundit, the debate also offered some clues to the potential tension within the government coalition. The Social Democrats' interim parliamentary leader Rolf Mützenich criticized the tone of Kramp-Karrenbauer's speech, which he deemed too confrontational. He wondered whether her "concept of security" was still up to date, and suggested she might consider "easing tensions, with for example Russia."

Watch video 02:49 Share New German defense minister Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3Me4w Germany's new defense minister already making her mark

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> BERLIN: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the head of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat party, will succeed Ursula von der Leyen as German defence minister, a source within the party told Reuters on Tuesday (Jul 16).

Von der Leyen, who was confirmed on Tuesday by the European Parliament as the next head of the European Union's executive, steps down from her German role on Tuesday.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, a close Merkel ally who is widely seen as the long-serving chancellor's favoured candidate to succeed her, currently has no government role, which critics say would make it more difficult for her to transition to the chancellorship. </s> Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was sworn in as Germany's new defense minister on Wednesday morning at a special session of the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag.

The ceremony itself had a makeshift air about it. German lawmakers were called in from their summer holidays to attend the ceremony, with some opposition members grumbling at the fact that attendance had been made obligatory (with non-attendees forced to pay a fine). Others also pointed out the cost of the extra session — estimated at €100,000 ($112,000).

The swearing-in took place in a provisional plenary hall rather than the main chamber, which is being renovated over the summer break.

In a speech, Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasized the special bond between the Bundestag and the German military, which requires parliamentary approval before any foreign mission.

The new minister also repeated her call for an increase to the defense budget, a controversial demand for some in the junior partners of the government coalition, the Social Democratic Party (SPD). But the US and other NATO partners have long demanded that Germany increase its budget to meet the alliance's target of spending 2% of GDP on defense.

"I am committed to the government's target of 2%, a target that all allies have repeatedly agreed to," Kramp-Karrenbauer said in her speech.

The defense minister's seat was abruptly vacated last week, when the incumbent Ursula von der Leyen was elected as the new European Commission president by the European Parliament.

Kramp-Karrenbauer was a surprising choice to take over, given she has only recently been elected leader of Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and had repeatedly promised that she would concentrate on reinvigorating the party ahead of crucial regional elections in the fall.

In the meantime, though, the CDU leadership appears to have decided that the 56-year-old former state premier of Saarland did need federal government experience after all. With the CDU still polling as Germany's biggest party, Kramp-Karrenbauer is currently in pole position to succeed Merkel as chancellor.

In the hour-long debate after Kramp-Karrenbauer's speech, opposition members lost no time in criticizing the CDU for allegedly using the defense ministry as a training ground for a chancellor-in-waiting.

"The CDU is the biggest threat to our security," said Rüdiger Lucassen, of the Alternative for Germany (AFD). </s> BERLIN (Reuters) - Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and head of her Christian Democrat party, will succeed Ursula von der Leyen as defense minister, government spokesman Steffen Seibert told Reuters.

Von der Leyen, who was confirmed on Tuesday by the European Parliament as the next head of the European Union’s executive commission, steps down from her German role on Tuesday.

The choice of Kramp-Karrenbauer, a follower of Merkel’s centrist politics, came as a surprise to many in Berlin, where many had expected Jens Spahn, the arch-conservative health minister, to take the defense job.

But Kramp-Karrenbauer, widely seen as the long-serving chancellor’s favored candidate to succeed her, currently has no government role, a reason critics have given in the past to oppose her possible rise to the chancellorship. </s> Inglourious Basterds star Til Schweiger has taken aim at Germany’s new defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on social media and posted a collage, suggesting that the 56-year-old CDU chief might not be a good choice for the top job.

The meme picture that he posted included Kramp-Karrenbauer’s portrait along with the images of her counterparts – the newly-appointed US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper and Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. While the two men looked seriously into the camera, wearing a smart suit and a uniform with medals respectively, AKK, as the German media has dubbed the CDU politician, was pictured dressed as a cleaning lady. Schweiger noted in the caption: “Epic!” and posted numerous ROFL emojis.

The German outlet Bild points out the photo was taken this February during a show at the Carnival in AKK’s home state Saarland. As the actor told the magazine, this picture caught his attention on Instagram, he thought it was funny and decided to share.

"It speaks for itself… I think the bargaining for the post and if Kramp-Karrenbauer will become chancellor is rather sad”, he said.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who succeeded Angela Merkel as the head of the CDU in December 2018, replaced former Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen on 24 July. The latter left the ministry after six years because she was elected EU Commission President.

The appointment is said to be surprising, considering that AKK earlier said she intended to concentrate on party leadership instead of government service, a DW report says. It also added that many had expected Health Minister Jens Spahn to become the new defence minister. </s> Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is elected new leader of Merkel's party

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is elected new leader of Merkel's party. </s> BERLIN (AP) — The new leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's party is taking over Germany's defense ministry in a risky but potentially rewarding move, reversing her previous insistence that she wouldn't join the Cabinet.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is to be formally appointed Wednesday as the successor to Ursula von der Leyen, who was elected Tuesday as the new head of the European Commission.

Kramp-Karrenbauer narrowly won the leadership of Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union in December. She has concentrated so far on trying to renew the party, among other things seeking to heal divisions with conservatives who were irked by Merkel's welcoming approach to migrants in 2015 and other moves.

However, she has seen her poll ratings drop sharply following several gaffes, and has struggled to raise her profile given that she lacks a seat in parliament and also wasn't in the Cabinet. Kramp-Karrenbauer had insisted in recent days that she would continue to concentrate on the party, but has now changed tack abruptly.

Merkel says she won't seek a fifth term as chancellor and it isn't yet clear who will run as the CDU's candidate for chancellor in Germany's next election — which is due in 2021 but could come earlier if her fractious coalition with the struggling center-left Social Democrats collapses.

The defense ministry offers Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, who has served as governor of Saarland state but not in the federal government, a chance to gain foreign and security policy experience.

But it also is notoriously difficult to run, with concerns including the poor state of the German military's equipment and managing a transition from conscription to a professional force.

While von der Leyen's unexpected elevation to the European Union's top job after 5½ years as defense minister suggests that the post can be a springboard to promotion, it has left most recent occupants as diminished figures in domestic politics. Von der Leyen herself was long considered a potential successor to Merkel but faded out of contention while at the defense ministry.

An ambitious younger conservative who also ran in last year's CDU leadership election, Health Minister Jens Spahn, had been considered favorite to become defense minister. Kramp-Karrenbauer's move to take the job avoids giving a potential rival more exposure. </s> (HAMBURG, Germany) — Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has been elected as the new leader of Merkel’s center-right party.

Kramp-Karrenbauer narrowly defeated Friedrich Merz, a one-time Merkel rival, at a congress of the Christian Democratic Union in Hamburg on Friday. She won 517 votes to Merz’s 482 in a run-off. A third candidate, Health Minister Jens Spahn, was eliminated in a first round of voting.

The 56-year-old Kramp-Karrenbauer has been the CDU’s general secretary, in charge of day-to-day political strategy, since February. She was previously a popular governor of western Saarland state.

She now inherits the task of improving the CDU’s political fortunes and trying to win back voters from rivals to the right and left, while working with Merkel as chancellor until Germany’s next election.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is sworn in as German defence minister.