Berlin Verena Hubertz is one of the few entrepreneurs represented in the new Bundestag. The 33-year-old won the Trier / Saarburg constituency in Rhineland-Palatinate for the SPD in the federal elections. For the parliamentary mandate, Hubertz leaves the start-up “Kitchen Stories” she co-founded. So far, users have downloaded the Koch app more than 20 million times.
Hubertz thinks it’s a shame that so few entrepreneurs switch to politics. “Entrepreneurial thinking, acting and acting can also be important for political work,” she says.
Ms. Hubertz, what was the motivation for you to switch to politics?
I’ve been active in the SPD for eleven years and have been very annoyed. Then I thought: don’t complain, join in. And if you want to change things, it is in the heart of democracy, the German Bundestag. There is a lot going on too slowly for me there. The major challenges such as climate change or digitization are not being tackled with enough determination.
And then you thought: Now is the time to get involved in Berlin.
Not only. The opportunity was also favorable because in my home region of Trier, a successor to Katarina Barley was sought in the SPD constituency there, who has moved to Brussels. That’s how things came together. I then decided to say goodbye to the operative business of my company and to run for the Bundestag.
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Is it a problem that the number of entrepreneurs in Parliament is very manageable?
It is generally a problem that the Bundestag is not representative of society. We have certain professional groups that dominate Parliament: lawyers, teachers, many who come from the public sector. I would like the variety of professions to be better represented. For example, that the care sector is better represented, that we have more people with a migration background in Parliament, including significantly more women. The low percentage of women is a huge problem.
Would it be important to have more entrepreneurs in politics to understand what really drives the real economy?
Definitive. Entrepreneurial thinking, acting and acting can be important for political work. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be classic entrepreneurs who have these qualities. Thomas Sattelberger from the FDP, for example, was a board member at Telekom.
Why do so few entrepreneurs choose politics?
This has a lot to do with how parties put their Bundestag candidates up. It is difficult to get involved in political parties in addition to everyday work. If you haven’t done that for a few years, you will hardly get a chance to run for election.
How was that with you?
My path has been very unusual. The SPD made an open application process, and I was able to apply for the Trier constituency. So I didn’t go through certain stages beforehand, wasn’t active on the city council or on the district executive. That is why I am in favor of more permeability, so that not only party politicians with the classic path have a chance in politics. That still happens far too rarely.
Then is it mainly because of the parties that there are so few career changers?
Naturally.
Could it also be because the move to politics is not so financially attractive for an entrepreneur?
I don’t think money is crucial. The decisive factor is more the motivation to help now. Of course, a Bundestag mandate is a temporary office. But here it also depends on the entrepreneurial spirit. We are not civil servants who have the right to return to their previous work. We are entrepreneurial people who face challenges with full commitment and put our heart and soul into it. The financial side is of secondary importance.
Do you have a preference as to which parliamentary committee you would like to go to?
We were allowed to submit a note to the top of the parliamentary group and express wishes. I’ve ticked Business, Finance, Digital and Work and I’m excited to see what it will be.
What exactly do you want to move in the Bundestag?
If you look at the Dax, you can see a problem that Germany is facing. We are dominated by large automobile manufacturers, but the last digital world success was SAP. Of course, companies like Hellofresh are also coming up. But actually we have neglected in recent years to shape the future in such a way that new ideas can grow and society benefits from them.
What has to change?
We need better framework conditions for young entrepreneurs. We have to start teaching the entrepreneurial mindset, i.e. steps towards independence, at school. We also need more capital to enable corporate success.
What do you have in mind?
One of my specific ideas is a so-called future fund 2.0. It cannot be that a company like Biontech from Mainz finances its growth with money from the sovereign wealth fund in Singapore. Why don’t we have a German state fund to support such companies? I would like to link that to the pension. We have a financing problem there. With the future fund 2.0 we invest in the companies of the future and secure the pension with the return.
Ms. Hubertz, thank you very much for the interview.
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