«Why does Joe Biden think that Ursula von der Leyen is qualified to lead the defence of the West? She was German defence minister between 2013 and 2019 and was involved in multiple controversies.
In 2015, German troops were so ill-equipped that they had to use broomsticks instead of machine guns for a Nato exercise. It also emerged that German rifles wouldn’t shoot straight in temperatures above 30°C. By 2019, the Bundeswehr’s ammunition stocks were reportedly so low that they would run out after two or three days of fighting.
The same year, German soldiers used mobile phones on another exercise because they didn’t have encrypted communication devices. Thanks in part to von der Leyen’s leadership, Bundeswehr soldiers still lack modern radios, night-vision equipment, body armour, radio-integrated helmets, combat boots and even thermal underwear and water proof clothing.
In February 2021, the Dutch MEP Derk Jan Eppink called for von der Leyen to stand down from her fairly disastrous spell as president of the European Commission. ‘I did not vote for your candidacy for president of the European Commission because I knew of your past as a minister of defence in Germany,’ he said. ‘You have run away but I will say it anyway, you are to be blamed.’»
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