Since moving to Berlin, rumors have been circulating that Faeser will give up her position as Federal Minister of the Interior prematurely. The goal of the SPD politician is to become head of government in Hesse in 2023. She never confirmed that. A party friend is now commenting on this.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) assumes that her cabinet colleague Nancy Faeser will return to state politics in Hesse. In an interview with the news portal “t-online”, the SPD politician did not want to speculate whether she could then become Federal Minister of the Interior in Faeser’s place.
When asked about rumors that Faeser could become the SPD’s top candidate in Hesse next year and that Lambrecht could then move up to the Ministry of the Interior, the Defense Minister replied: “I’m counting on Nancy Faeser not only becoming a top candidate, but also the first woman Prime Minister in Hesse,” said Lambrecht, who also belongs to the Hessian state association, she explained to herself: “I have accepted the challenge of finally equipping the Bundeswehr properly. (…) I will also fulfill this task.”
When asked if she ruled out a change, she replied: “I have taken on the task of Secretary of Defense. And anyone who knows me knows that I also fulfill the tasks I have taken on”.
During the coalition negotiations between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, Lambrecht was discussed as a possible interior minister. But then her party friend Nancy Faeser filled this post, and Lambrecht took over the defense department. Faeser, who was previously the leader of the opposition in Hesse, was re-elected on May 7 as the SPD state leader in Hesse. A new state parliament will be elected in Hesse in autumn 2023.
Faeser himself had repeatedly pointed out that the question of the top candidate in Hesse would not be answered until next year. “The Federal Minister of the Interior is doing her job with full force and has no intention of changing anything,” said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior on Friday. “
In coalition circles, Lambrecht’s statement on Faeser’s plans for the future caused astonishment and irritation. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said: “I am not aware of any plans for a government reshuffle, either now or in the future.”
Criticism came from the opposition. “In any case, it harms factual and specialist politics if you make a change here so early,” said Clara Bünger, a left-wing domestic politician. The political will for the “structural changes” in the Federal Ministry of the Interior is obviously missing here, without which an effective fight against right-wing extremism and improvements in the asylum law could not be achieved.
“Ms. Lambrecht is now finally declaring Ms. Faeser to be a minister on call,” said the domestic policy spokesman for the Union faction, Alexander Throm (CDU). However, given the many crises and challenges, Germany cannot afford a Federal Minister of the Interior on call. The office requires full commitment Throm added: “I can’t imagine Ms. Lambrecht succeeding her as a failed Minister of Defense – the Federal Ministry of the Interior is not a rest ramp.”
If the SPD actually planned to bring Faeser to Berlin in order to gain the necessary profile for a successful top candidacy in Hesse as federal minister, this would at least not be a new strategy. Two party friends – the current Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, and the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey – had each headed the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs before the top candidate.
