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Karl Lauterbach to become Germany’s next Health Minister

The Social Democrats' Karl Lauterbach, who has emerged as a high profile yet sometimes controversial figure in the pandemic, is to become Germany's new Health Minister.

Incoming German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) stands with next Health Minister Karl Lauterbach in Berlin.
Incoming German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) stands with next Health Minister Karl Lauterbach in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

The SPD announced on Monday that Lauterbach will take over from outgoing Health Minister Jens Spahn who belongs to the Christian Democrats (CDU).

Lauterbach, 58, who is trained as a doctor and epidemiologist, has pushed for tough Covid restrictions throughout the pandemic, making him controversial to some. 

He has also been calling for stricter measures during the current fourth wave hitting Germany hard.

Commenting on his new appointment, Lauterbach said he was optimistic that Germany could overcome the Covid crisis.

He said the pandemic was far from over, but added: “We will manage it, though. Vaccination will play the central role, but not the only role. We will win the battle with the pandemic.”

Lauterbach said the health system would be strengthened and made more robust. “With us, there will be no cuts in health care services,” he said, adding that Germany would be equipped for any future pandemics.

Incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the newest appointments at the SPD headquarters in Berlin. Here’s how it looks:

The Labour and Social Affairs Ministry is to be headed up once more by incumbent Hubertus Heil.

The new Construction/Building Ministry will be led by Brandenburg SPD politician Klara Geywitz. Hesse politician Nancy Faeser is to become Interior Minister, taking over from the CSU’s Horst Seehofer.

Christine Lambrecht, the current Justice and Family Affairs Minister, is to take over the Ministry of Defence, stepping into the shoes of former CDU leader and Angela Merkel ally Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

READ ALSO: Petrolhead, novelist and trampolinist tipped for Germany’s post-Merkel cabinet

Svenja Schulze is set to become Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. And Wolfgang Schmidt is to become the new Minister of the Chancellor’s Office.

The new federal cabinet will be sworn in after the election of the new Chancellor, scheduled for Wednesday.

What about the other coalition partners?

The SPD is entering into a coalition government with the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP).

The Greens occupy the Foreign Affairs Ministry and it will be headed up by Greens co-leader Annalena Baerbock.

READ ALSO: Annalena Baerbock to become Germany’s first woman foreign minister

The Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection has the next Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck at the helm. The Family Affairs Ministry will be led by Anne Spiegel. The Environment Ministry is headed up by Steffi Lemke, and the Agriculture Ministry by Cem Özdemir.

The FDP provide the Finance Minister (FDP leader Christian Lindner), the Transport Minister (Volker Wissing), the Justice Minister (Marco Buschmann) and the Education Minister (Bettina Stark-Watzinger).

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POLITICS

Joint leader of Sweden’s Green Party announces resignation

Märta Stenevi, the embattled leader of Sweden's Green Party, has said she is resigning to focus on her mental health, her children and her partner.

Joint leader of Sweden's Green Party announces resignation

The decision comes less than three weeks after Stenevi took an indefinite period of sick leave, saying that she needed time to recover after a bruising period that saw the party launch an internal investigation into complaints about her management style.

There has also been extensive press coverage over the alleged conflict she has with Daniel Hellden, the man chosen as the party’s other leader at a conference in November. 

“This is a very difficult decision,” Stenevi told the Aftonbladet newspaper. “I put myself forward for reelection and received a renewed mandate from the congress, but I don’t believe I can be my best self right now and I don’t really know how long it will take to get back on my feet.”

“The party deserves better than to be in some kind of limbo, where one of the spokespeople [as the party calls its leaders] cannot fully carry out the role. And I need to focus on getting better again, being a good mum and a pleasant partner.”  

Writing on Instagram, Stenevi’s joint leader Daniel Helldén said that he was sorry to see Stenevi go. 

“I have respect for her decision, but personally I think it’s a real shame. I have very much enjoyed working together with Märtha,” he said. 

Stenevi said that the leaks to the media about complaints about her management style in the autumn had been difficult for her to handle. 

“It put me under enormous pressure. It wasn’t the media attention: I understand that you are going to be continually criticised and investigated, but what happened in the autumn was that there was a lot of anonymous briefing, so you didn’t know who you could trust or where it was coming from, and that made it much more difficult and much more draining.” 

When Stenevi went on sick leave last month, the party’s secretary, Katrin Wissing, told TT that her relationship with Daniel Helldén had not played a role in her departure.

“On the contrary, Daniel has been giving Märta extremely good support,” she said. 

Although Stenevi is resigning as party leader, she intends to remain in parliament is an MP, and has not decided to give up her career in politics. 

“When I’m back on track, I’ll see what happens, but I don’t feel completely finished with politics,” she said. “But this is the right decision, both for me, my family and my party.” 

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