The Greens have criticized the abolition of parity in the federal cabinet in the course of the appointment of future Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SOD).

A cabinet in which there are just as many women as men is extremely important, said the co-leader of the Greens parliamentary group, Katharina Dröge, on Tuesday in Berlin.

There could also have been a woman as Minister of Defense again.

Women are at least equally qualified.

It is actually a matter of course to fill the cabinet equally.

"That should also be the case for all future decisions."

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit had previously announced in a press release that Lower Saxony's interior minister would follow Christine Lambrecht, who announced her resignation on Monday.

"I am very pleased to have won an outstanding politician from our country for the post of defense minister in Boris Pistorius.

Pistorius is an extremely experienced politician who has been tried and tested in administration, has been dealing with security policy for years and, with his competence, his assertiveness and his big heart, is exactly the right person to lead the Bundeswehr through this turning point," said Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to the Message.

Pistorius will receive his certificate of appointment from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday and will take his oath of office in the Bundestag. 

There was also criticism of the decision from the Union and the AfD.

"The Chancellor is showing that he does not take his own turning point seriously," said the deputy chairman of the Union faction, Johann Wadephul (CDU), the German Press Agency.

"Again, expertise and experience with the Bundeswehr are irrelevant," said Wadephul.

The personnel is a "cast from the B team".

With that, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) managed “a real surprise.

Unfortunately not a good one."

The defense policy spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group, Rüdiger Lucassen, criticized the fact that instead of an expert, the Bundeswehr was getting “another party soldier without expertise and affinity with our armed forces”.

Scholz (SPD) is again putting party logic above the welfare of the country.

Lindner: "A big task"

Traffic light leaders welcomed the appointment.

Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) announced.

"Boris Pistorius is a very experienced politician who has the necessary nerves of steel in difficult situations.".

He had always experienced Pistorius as binding and reliable. 

Finance Minister Christian Lindner congratulated Pistorius in a tweet.

In it, the FDP leader spoke on Tuesday of his "new cabinet colleague Boris Pistorius".

“A major task lies ahead of us, especially with the implementation of the special fund,” he wrote.

He is looking forward to good cooperation between the finance and defense ministries.

Pistorius had repeatedly been said to have ambitions for political office at the federal level.

For example, there were rumors that he could become federal interior minister if Nancy Faeser ran as the top candidate for the SPD in the state elections in Hesse.

The Interior Minister of Lower Saxony is considered an experienced political manager.

In the past few years, Pistorius has gained a reputation as a knowledgeable specialist politician among the interior ministers of the federal and state governments.

Even though he always stayed in Lower Saxony, he was also involved in the internal political positioning of the federal SPD in election campaigns and in coalition negotiations.

Minister of the Interior in Lower Saxony since 2013

At the conferences of interior ministers, Pistorius, who is considered to be pragmatic, always visibly enjoyed arguing with conservatives like former interior minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) on the open stage, quick-witted, with pointed remarks, but never disrespectful.

Perhaps Pistorius' age also makes him the ideal candidate for the post of defense minister.

At the age of 62, a politician can finally move into the executive office in the Bendlerblock, which is generally regarded as an ejection seat and therefore also as a potential career killer.

Pistorius completed an apprenticeship as a wholesale and foreign trade merchant.

He did his military service from 1980 to 1981, after which he studied law in Osnabrück and Münster.

Pistorius has been Minister of the Interior in Lower Saxony since 2013, and his third term began a few months ago.

Before that he was mayor of Osnabrück from 2006 to 2013.

Pistorius is widowed and has two daughters.