Berlin The Ukraine war, Germany’s energy sovereignty, civil protection: These were the planned topics of the Green Federal Executive Committee at its retreat this Monday and Tuesday in Husum.
Instead, a personal issue was in the foreground – the resignation of Federal Minister for Family Affairs Anne Spiegel, which the Greens politician explained on Monday afternoon. So she wanted to avert “damage from the office”. She was heavily criticized for her role during the flood disaster in Rhineland-Palatinate.
She deserves respect for her decision, said party leader Ricarda Lang. The exam started a few hours later than planned because of the personnel situation. “We were in close contact with her,” Lang said.
Co-party leader Omid Nouripour added that the resignation was correct. “We will be making a proposal for a successor very soon,” he said. In the social networks, there has already been speculation about Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt as a possible successor. She had previously been considered for the post. With her as Reala, however, the balance of power would no longer be balanced according to wings; the party left would lose out.
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Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also expressed his “great respect” for Spiegel’s decision. A government spokeswoman said the chancellor worked closely and trustingly with Spiegel in the cabinet. “He wishes her all the best for the future after this difficult time.”
Green Federal Executive Committee on Anne Spiegel’s resignation: “You deserve our respect”
For the party, the personnel situation shortly before the state elections in Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia in May is extremely unfortunate. In a memorable press conference on Sunday evening, Spiegel had asked for an apology for their behavior during the 2021 flood disaster. It was announced over the weekend that ten days after the devastating floods, she had gone on a month-long vacation with her family.
Party leadership pushed for resignation
Until she moved to Berlin, Spiegel was not only environment minister, but also deputy prime minister in Malu Dreyer’s (SPD) traffic light government in Rhineland-Palatinate. On Sunday, Spiegel admitted that, contrary to what she had previously stated, she did not join the cabinet meetings during her vacation and immediately after the Ahr disaster.
Spiegel seemed emotional throughout the entire performance, repeatedly faltered during her statement and finally sought help from one of her employees in the background.
Spiegel interrupted her vacation for a day to go to the Ahr Valley and then flew back to her family.
(Photo: dpa)
However, Spiegel has not yet announced a resignation – although apparently even their party leadership unanimously urged this after a crisis meeting on Sunday, as the “Bild” reported. The Greens did not initially comment on the report.
With a view to the upcoming state elections, the parliamentary group had already said in the morning: “It won’t help us if this remains an ongoing issue.” Others had supported Spiegel there.
“A family minister who knows how hard it is for families in Corona, and who therefore fights politically to ensure that they are not forgotten again in the next crisis, is a win for the entire federal government and families in this country,” wrote the budget spokesman for the Greens in the Bundestag, Sven-Christian Kindler, on Twitter.
The Parliamentary State Secretary in the Family Ministry, Sven Lehmann (Greens), also defended Spiegel. “The example of Anne Spiegel is also used to negotiate how humane politics can be,” he tweeted. Federal Minister of Economics and ex-party leader Robert Habeck said in the early afternoon in Berlin that Spiegel’s press conference on Sunday evening “got under your skin”.
On the other hand, the Mannheim political scientist Constantin Wurthmann called for Spiegel to put aside their own ambition if necessary, also with a view to their Green cabinet colleagues Habeck and Annalena Baerbock. “It almost seems as if they have been the federal government for a long time, they work so routinely and professionally. That is by no means normal.” Spiegel could have used Sunday to resign face-saving, but failed to do so, according to Wurthmann.
There had already been calls for Spiegel to resign at the weekend. CDU leader Friedrich Merz, for example, asked Chancellor Scholz to dismiss Spiegel – even before the statement on Sunday. Several other Union politicians also demanded Spiegel’s resignation – and spoke of double standards.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the local CDU politician and Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser resigned on Thursday after it became known that she had met other members of the government after the flood disaster in Mallorca to celebrate her husband’s birthday.
The personnel is also unfortunate for the party because the Greens are currently having to bend the content anyway. Even during the election campaign, the party opposed arms deliveries and the rearmament of the Bundeswehr. Due to the Ukraine war and the turning point in foreign, security and defense policy, the top personnel can no longer stick to these slogans.
Energy policy in particular has become a tightrope walk. In order to become independent of Russian gas, gas from Qatar may also be needed. Not every Green likes that, nor does the debate about extending the lifespan of lignite or nuclear power plants.
The Greens have to swallow a few bucks these days, but try to sell it as a strength to adapt their own policies in the face of new challenges. With a view to the coalition peace, they support the blocking attitude of the FDP in corona policy without much grumbling. They also do not reject the planned special fund for the Bundeswehr outright.
More: The Spiegel resignation is the next embarrassment for Scholz and the traffic light – a comment