German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius sees popularity soar

Just a few weeks after taking over as defense minister on January 19, Boris Pistorius from the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) has become Germany's most popular politician, according to a telephone survey of 1,361 eligible voters conducted last week and published by public broadcaster ZDF. He outranked popular Green Party politicians Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economy Minister Robert Habeck.

The 62-year-old took office after his predecessor, Christine Lambrecht, was forced to resign following a series of political blunders. After having served as interior minister for the northern state of Lower Saxony for over a decade, Pistorius suddenly found himself in the spotlight, as the war in Ukraine dominates both the media and political landscape.

Unpopular predecessors

"Christine Lambrecht was hired, like her predecessors [Ursula von der Leyen and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer — Editor's note], at a time when national defense was no longer considered to be of great importance," Gero Neugebauer, a political scientist at Berlin's Free University, told DW.

But Pistorius took office under different circumstances and immediately scored points with conservative-minded Germans, Neugebauer added. 

Little known to many in and outside of Germany, Pistorius was a surprise choice for the role of defense minister. In appointing a man to the post, Chancellor Olaf Scholz broke his pledge to maintain gender parity in the Cabinet.

Pistorius, a law graduate and former mayor of the northwestern city of Osnabrück, comes from the law and order wing of his party. He undertook his mandatory military service from 1980 to 1981. But he has no extensive military experience and was unfamiliar with federal — let alone international — politics.

Johann Wadephul, the deputy chairman of the center-right opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU)grouping in the federal parliament, the Bundestag, described Pistorius' appointment as a selection from the "B team."

Nevertheless, Pistorius has a solid reputation as a politician who gets things done. He was responsible for introducing extensive reforms to the police force in Lower Saxony where he helped to bring in new recruits and improve citizen outreach, as well as prioritizing the fight against political extremism.

Close ties with the chancellor

At the time of Pistorius' appointment, Scholz — who also hails from Osnabrück — described his new Cabinet minister as an "outstanding politician." "With his experience, competence, and assertiveness, as well as his big heart, he is exactly the right person for the Bundeswehr at this turning point," Scholz said.

Like Scholz, Pistorius also ran for the leadership of the SPD in 2019 and, like Scholz, also lost. The latest polling, however, indicates Pistorius is way ahead of the competition.

After his debut appearance in the role of defense minister at the Munich Security Conference this past weekend, the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported that Pistorius was being touted as a potential "leader." 

"Pistorius communicates clearly and directly, but not in such a way that others might feel offended," political scientist Neugebauer told DW. "He is demanding but not a showoff, and often meets personally with the soldiers, which has earned him a reputation as someone who cares."

This clear and direct approach was on show in Munich as Pistorius announced that "Ukraine must win this war" — in contrast to the chancellor's "Ukraine must not lose the war, Russia must not win the war."

Pistorius reaffirmed Germany's pledge to reach NATO's military spending target of 2% of GDP — Germany's military spending reached about 1.5% of its GDP in 2022. "By 2025, we will put at NATO's disposal a full army division," he added.

In early February, less than a month after taking office, the defense minister made an unannounced visit to Ukraine — his first foreign trip in the role. Pistorius met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, and announced a plan to dispatch more than 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks, in addition to the already approved delivery of modern Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.

Fresh from his well-received appearance at the Munich Security Conference, Pistorius demonstrated his caring, hands-on approach during a visit to Ukrainian troops being trained in the German city of Munster on Monday.

"Talking about a war is different from looking into the faces of people who [...] came here directly from the front line, and who will go back there with the tanks once they have completed their training," he told reporters.

Indeed, one of the defense minister's biggest challenges will be administering the special €100 billion ($106 billion) fund that Scholz promised the German armed forces back in February 2022.

But Pistorius has made it clear this is not enough — he is asking for an additional €10 billion for the defense budget (currently €50 billion) to build up the military after more than three decades of chronic neglect and underfunding.

With budget negotiations for 2024 and 2025 due to take place in March, there are already rumblings of a division within his own party over how exactly the money should be allocated. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, SPD leader Saskia Esken appeared to be setting Pistorius certain limits, for example, in highlighting coalition projects such as fighting child poverty.

It remains to be seen whether the defense minister will deliver.

"Pistorius hasn't enjoyed a 'grace period' because he did not want one and knew he would not have one and therefore didn't ask for one: he's a doer," said Neugebauer. "When the piano needs to be moved to another room in the apartment, he is not the one carrying the sheet music."

Edited by: Rina Goldenberg

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