>Yeah, if you guys in Germany can actually stop filling important positions like the defense department with establishment political party figure heads we all would appreciate it.

To be fair, it wasn't an important position until last January. Unlike the USA where the defense department is one of the major economic drivers of the entire country, in nations like Germany, it's just a black hole for money. And unlike in the USA, that cabinet position isn't going to be a stepping stone to a cushy high-paying executive job at a defense manufacturer. It's more of a dead-end position or a temporary position before someone gets moved into a better cabinet post.