Jörg Kukies is a big fan of FSV Mainz 05. The 53-year-old has a season ticket and regularly goes to the stadium with his family. He has also personally inspected the new Bundesliga soccer club.
But in the future, Kukies will be less likely to cheer for his local Mainz team. After all, he has risen to become the most powerful civil servant in the new federal government: a kind of super advisor to the new Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
Up until now there was an economic advisor and an advisor for European issues in the Chancellery. In the future, Kukies will be both in one. For him, the only State Secretary within the Chancellery has even been postponed. In the future, there will be no state secretary to watch over the secret services; instead, Kukies will be enthroned in this role over the European and economic departments.
The new structure in the Chancellery is both a signal and a show of power. From Kukies’ point of view, the new style only institutionalizes what has long been a reality: national economic policy is almost always European policy.
Energy policy? From Kukies’ point of view, it is as much a predominantly European issue as trade and currency policy has long been. And the corona crisis has strengthened this impression once again: The federal government had to coordinate all corona aid for companies closely with the EU Commission and have it approved by Brussels.
Announcement for Baerbock and Habeck
The new structure in the Chancellery also shows that Scholz is setting clear priorities in foreign and economic policy from his house and does not want to leave the issues to the Greens. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economics Minister Robert Habeck can understand the new structure as an announcement.
For Kukies, on the other hand, the appointment as a European and economic advisor is the maximum vote of confidence: the Chancellor is counting on him completely. He still belongs to the closest circle – only with even more responsibility now.
In 2018, Kukies moved to the Federal Ministry of Finance as State Secretary to Scholz. The change came as a surprise. Scholz and Kukies did not know each other, the then SPD leader Andrea Nahles had recommended Scholz Kukies. At the time, he was Co-Head of Germany at Goldman Sachs, and many Social Democrats still consider the bank to be the heart of darkness. Scholz didn’t care. Just as Kukies didn’t care, as a civil servant in the Federal Ministry of Finance earn significantly less.
Kukies grew up in an SPD family. The father was an electrical engineer at IBM, the grandmother a worker in the Schellenmühle in the Black Forest. In the 1990s, Kukies was the predecessor of Nahles as Juso boss in Rhineland-Palatinate. The prospect of being involved in shaping politics at the forefront appealed to him. During their first conversation, Kukies later said, he and Scholz immediately clicked.
Kukies is considered unideological, open to new ideas and loyal
During his time as Secretary of State for Europe, Kukies quickly gained a good reputation. He is seen as obsessed with numbers, details and work. Kukies is more enthusiastic about orchid topics such as crypto currencies than almost anyone else in the federal government. He is also considered unideological, open to new ideas and loyal.
In the corona crisis, Kukies also showed skills as a crisis manager. He helped set up the Corona rescue fund and was proud when the federal government was able to quickly sell the Lufthansa shares it had acquired for a profit. He was also involved in setting up the EU reconstruction fund.
Kukies had previously tried to advance the EU banking union before the outbreak of the pandemic. But on the controversial issue of European deposit insurance, there was hardly any progress despite lofty plans.
But this as well as the other examples show how Kukies ticks in terms of European politics and how he should interpret his role in the Chancellery: He does not shy away from necessary communitization steps – especially in times of crisis. But Kukies is not someone who thinks that EU debts should be communitized as a good idea per se. Kukies does not believe in the introduction of European secure bonds, so-called safe assets.
His role in the Wirecard affair was controversial. As a financial expert, he had not even seen the scandal surrounding the payment service provider approaching, and he also met with Wirecard boss Markus Braun on his 50th birthday. The opposition meanwhile called for Kukies’ resignation, but he sat out the criticism. With this, too, he won Scholz’s trust. The Chancellor considers perseverance to be a great virtue.
Kukies was toying with a move to the ECB
From those around Scholz, it was recently always said that Kukies was indispensable, even if the economist who had a doctorate at the University of Chicago was recently toying with a move to the European Central Bank (ECB). But Isabel Schnabel’s position was not vacant anyway.
And the new job is also extremely attractive for Kukies. He knows a good part of European issues from his job as State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, as well as the preparation of international summits. Above all, however, as a business advisor, Kukies has to have his ear on the pulse of the German economy, he is your central contact for all worries and needs.
From his time at Goldman Sachs in particular, Kukies has a large, international network. He has special connections with the financial world, but he also has good contacts with industrial companies. He also sat as a representative of the federal government on the Supervisory Board of the Post. Unlike his predecessor Lars-Hendrik Röller, Kukies should therefore only need a little training period.
More: Jörg Kukies – This is the Chancellor’s new economic advisor