Germany: Social Democrats announce ministers for new government

The next German Chancellor Olaf Scholz threw in a number of minor surprises as he nominated the Cabinet ministers from his Social Democrat on Monday morning.

Inviting each designated minister to speak alongside him at SPD party headquarters in Berlin, announced that popular physician Karl Lauterbach would take over the potentially difficult Health Ministry.

Lauterbach, who has become a fixture in political talk shows during the COVID-19 pandemic and the public face of his party’s health policy, thanked the support he had received from the general public over the last few days, when speculation over who would get the post circulated widely.

“Probably most citizens of this country had been wishing that the next Health Minister would be a specialist in the field who would truly be able to do it well, and that he would be called Karl Lauterbach – he will,” said Scholz.

“We have to fight this pandemic. The pandemic will last longer than many think, but we will do it,” Lauterbach told assembled reporters. “Vaccination will play a central role, but not the only one, and on top of that we will strengthen the health care system.”

Who are the new ministers?

For political observers in Berlin, however, the bigger surprise was the nomination of Nancy Faeser as Interior Minister. Faeser, SPD leader in the state of Hesse, where the party is currently in opposition, had not been on pundits’ radar in the last few weeks, and her elevation to one of the key ministries – which oversees Germany’s entire domestic security apparatus – was unexpected. 

In her acceptance speech, Faeser, who will be the first ever woman to take the post, spoke of fighting far-right extremism. She has been active in the Hesse parliamentary committees investigating previous failures by police and intelligence agencies in uncovering far-right terrorism. 

Many thought the Interior Ministry would be taken over by another woman, current Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht, who has now been handed the Defense Ministry instead.  

The SPD will hold eight of the 17 Cabinet positions, including the chancellorship, while the other nine are to be shared among coalition partners the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP). 

Klara Geywitz, an SPD deputy leader and the only East German in the new Cabinet, will take over the Ministry for Construction and Housing — a new office that Scholz said had been a key part of the party’s coalition negotiations. The new government plans to build 400,000 new apartments every year to ease Germany’s massive shortage in affordable housing in urban areas.

Svenja Schulze, who served as environment minister in the government under Angela Merkel, will take over the Development Ministry. Hubertus Heil will remain Labor and Social Affairs Minister to oversee a reorganization of the country’s unemployment benefit system.

The new cabinet will see an equal number of male and female ministers — one of Scholz’s key promises.

On Saturday, a SPD party conference overwhelmingly approved the new coalition agreement with 598 delegates voting for it, seven voting against the plan and three abstentions. The FDP approved the coalition agreement on Sunday, while the Greens are expected to follow suit on Monday afternoon.

The new government is set to be sworn in on Wednesday.

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-social-democrats-announce-ministers-for-new-government/a-60030349?maca=en-rss-en-ger-1023-xml-atom