Nancy Faeser is Federal Minister of the Interior, but would rather govern in Hesse. Her candidacy is a dilemma for the SPD and sends the wrong signal to the public.
Now it’s certain: Nancy Faeser will be the SPD’s top candidate for the state elections in Hesse – and still remain Minister of the Interior. The message: a ministerial office at the federal level and half a year of campaigning at the state level – that’s not a big problem!
Of course that’s nonsense. A ministry is more than a full-time job, that applies to every department. As Minister of the Interior, Faeser is also responsible for the issues that currently have the greatest potential to split this society: Plans to overthrow Reich citizens, New Year’s Eve riots, stabbings on trains and discussions about deportations are just as much a part of this as managing an influx of refugees whose proportions are already now exceeds the 2015/2016 crisis.
Career before the common good
But the minister wants to go back to Hesse, where her “heart beats,” as she put it in May. And as much as she protested in an interview with “Spiegel”, to which she confirmed her candidacy on Thursday after a long silence, that now is “not the time to campaign”: she will not be able to avoid it. Press enquiries, TV appearances, panel discussions – that’s just part of it if you want to win a political office.
The balancing act that Faeser wants to try is grossly negligent and, with some justification, drives not only the opposition, but also the SPD coalition partners upset. With Faeser’s candidacy, both the minister and the chancellor are finally sending the signal: before official duty, before passion for the cause, before the common good, it’s about securing posts and careers. This is grist for the mill of those disaffected by politics and will not be conveyed to the general public.
The SPD lacks top personnel
It is not the lust for power and position that drives the SPD, but pure desperation. The Social Democrats lack the right people for top positions in politics. Above all, she lacks suitable women. That’s why Christine Lambrecht was followed by a man in the defense department in Boris Pistorius, and that’s why the chancellor broke his promise of parity in the cabinet. This is a disgrace, especially for a party on the left spectrum.
In times of great uncertainty, the Chancellor’s party is once again causing unrest and instability in the cabinet. And this unrest will continue well into the fall, if not well beyond.
If Faeser wins in the fall, the next stalemate will follow, and Scholz will then have to find a new minister. If Faeser loses in Hesse, she remains as a minister – but her reputation is damaged and her passion for her office is not credible. Either way, this approach is a fiasco for the traffic light coalition and for the citizens of the country.
