GERMAN CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel went into damage limitation mode yesterday after losing her first scandal-tainted minister just a month into her second term.
Labour minister Franz Josef Jung announced his resignation yesterday afternoon, the third head to roll since the defence ministry admitted withholding details about a controversial Nato air-strike in Afghanistan in September. Ministry reports prepared after the September 4th bombing of two petrol tankers hijacked by the Taliban, and leaked on Thursday, made clear there had been civilian casualties, now believed to number up to 40.
As defence minister at the time, however, Mr Jung said in public there had been no civilian casualties of the German-ordered bombing in the northern region of Kunduz.
He stood his ground after the scandal broke on Thursday and refused to resign. Yesterday, however, a more contrite Mr Jung appeared to announce that, after sleeping on it, he would accept political responsibility for the debacle and stand down.
“I stand by my position that I correctly informed the public and parliament about my knowledge at the time,” he said.
“With this step I want to allow the government to continue its successful work and prevent further damage to the armed forces.”
The scandal was less about the bombing – the greatest civilian loss of life with German involvement since the second World War – than about the growing anger that the defence ministry had tried to withhold damaging information weeks before the general election.
It appears that Dr Merkel and the new defence minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, were only informed about the reports in question on Wednesday afternoon, when it became clear the Bild tabloid was publishing details the following day.
One well-placed defence source described Mr Jung’s resignation as the “logical consequence of a long tradition of catastrophic communication” in the defence ministry.
The resignation is an annoyance for Dr Merkel, but not damaging to her personally.
Mr Jung only sat at her cabinet table in the interests of regional proportionality within the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Yesterday Dr Merkel announced little-known state politician Kristina Köhler as the new family minister, replacing the chancellor’s ally, Ursula von der Leyen, who moves to the labour ministry to replace Mr Jung.
The real fallout from this scandal is likely to be a further drop in support for Germany’s already unpopular Afghanistan mission.
The Bundestag is currently debating the merits of Berlin’s mission to Afghanistan ahead of a vote to renew its one-year mandate, which expires next month.
“Just when we need a sober foreign policy debate in Germany, we get a scandal that sends all the wrong signals and will be used by the opposition,” said Jan Techau, director of the Alfred von Oppenheim Centre for European Policy Studies.
“But perhaps there’s a positive effect from this, too: it allows Mr zu Guttenberg to strengthen himself and to reorganise the ministry, with the proof in hand of what happens when you try to keep information away from people.”