The interior minister could become the SPD’s top candidate in the state elections in Hesse, which are expected to take place in the fall of this year.
(Photo: Reuters)
Berlin After the resignation of Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, the Union demanded that Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (both SPD) decide immediately between the SPD’s top candidate for the Hessian state elections and her office.
“After the Federal Minister of Defense, the Federal Minister of the Interior is threatening to become Chancellor Scholz’s next problem,” said the domestic policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, Alexander Throm (CDU), the Handelsblatt. “Mrs. Faeser should finally quickly clarify her political future in Berlin.”
The parliamentary manager of the CSU in the Bundestag, Stefan Müller, is also pushing for a decision. “The uncertainty also weakens the Ministry of the Interior,” Müller told Handelsblatt.
There has long been speculation about a possible cabinet reshuffle, as rumors of Faeser moving to Hesse have been circulating for some time. The SPD politician is chairwoman of the state association, which wants to decide on the top candidate at the beginning of February. The state elections take place in autumn.
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Scholz wants to settle Lambrecht’s successor quickly. “I have a clear idea and it will very quickly become known to everyone how this should continue,” said the Chancellor on Monday after a visit to the Hensoldt armaments company. This is expected to happen this Tuesday. It is unlikely that a decision will be announced about Faeser.
Faeser has not yet committed himself
The CSU politician Müller accused Scholz that there had been unrest in his cabinet for a year. The Greens politician Anne Spiegel had to resign as Minister for Family Affairs because of her role as Minister of the Environment for Rhineland-Palatinate in the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley in July 2021.
With ex-defense minister Lambrecht and still interior minister Faeser, two social democrats have been “ministers on call for months”. The CSU politician therefore warned: “After the Ministry of Defense, the interior department must not also suffer from red profile neuroses.” Faeser now has to explain whether she wants to stand for election in Hesse.
>> Read also: Comment – Lambrecht is overwhelmed even when he resigns
So far, Faeser has not committed himself to questions about her political future in the federal government and in Hesse. She regularly countered speculation about her person by pointing out that she was in charge of her ministry “at full speed” in order to fulfill the major domestic political tasks.
Berlin political scientist Gero Neugebauer firmly believes that Faeser will move to Hesse as the top candidate. The decision was “made some time ago” by the Hessian state association, Neugebauer told the Handelsblatt. This may lead to “premature castling in the cabinet, which would otherwise have taken place in February”.
If Faeser went to Hesse, Scholz would lose an interior minister who started out colorless, but then turned into a big doer in the cabinet. In addition to security in cyberspace, the protection of critical infrastructure in Germany and civil protection, many migration policy issues determine the Minister’s agenda.
Union warns Faeser of double duty: “A campaigning part-time minister is not justifiable”
In its coalition agreement, the traffic light coalition agreed on a “new beginning in migration and integration policy”. Since then, the minister has tirelessly pushed the issues forward. However, it is not yet clear whether Faeser will complete all of her projects.
It is also unclear whether Faeser would remain interior minister in the event of a top candidate or whether she would concentrate entirely on the election campaign in Hesse. According to reports, Scholz, like Faeser, would prefer to be able to continue the interior department until election day.
>> Read also: These are now the contenders for the Lambrecht successor
The CDU domestic politician Throm considers such a dual task to be absurd. “In these times, the country needs a Federal Minister of the Interior who is fully focused on the issue of internal security,” he said. “A campaigning part-time minister is not justifiable.”
The political scientist Neugebauer also thinks it impossible for Faeser to opt for Hesse and keep her ministerial office for the time being. “Mrs. Faeser will remain in Hesse, following Norbert Röttgen’s example,” he said.
Coalition partners are holding back in the Faeser case
The then Federal Environment Minister Röttgen, as the CDU’s top candidate for the 2012 North Rhine-Westphalia elections, did not want to commit himself to moving to Düsseldorf after an election defeat. Röttgen failed miserably in the election – also because a commitment was missing. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) then threw him out of the cabinet.
The Greens did not want to comment on the uncertainty in the Faeser case. The FDP Federal Vice Wolfgang Kubicki expressed himself cautiously. “So far, there have been unconfirmed rumors about a possible move from Nancy Faeser to Hessian state politics,” Kubicki told the Handelsblatt.
He also referred to the coalition agreement. After that, it is up to the SPD to fill the interior department should Faeser leave the cabinet. In this case, it would be up to the Social Democratic colleagues “to ensure that there are no credibility problems in the public perception when filling this position,” emphasized Kubicki.
More: Lambrecht, Lauterbach, Schulze – How Olaf Scholz struggles with his own ministers