By Nadja Aswad
The state elections in Hesse are not until the end of October, but the guesswork has already begun: Which comrade will move up if Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (52, SPD) should change to the state head of the Hessian State Chancellery?
► First traded name for this case: Ironically, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (44)!
She already failed in the fight for her doctoral thesis – now she is also threatening to mess up the Berlin elections. Nevertheless, she could be promoted to the federal cabinet in the fall.
A Berlin gossip next Sunday (February 12) is currently foreseeable if the polls are to be believed. Nevertheless, many in the SPD continue to believe in the former family minister in the federal government. For them, Giffey’s failure in Berlin would not be a problem – it will still be some time before the Hesse elections, which could free up the Faeser post…
One thing is clear: If Chancellor Olaf Scholz (64, SPD) does not continue to restructure the cabinet in the meantime, he MUST put a woman back in the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
These SPD women are also being discussed
► SPD leader Saskia Esken (61) considers herself suitable to be at the head of the mega-apparatus in the Federal Ministry of the Interior – but many in her party see it differently.
As early as November 2021, she had declared that she “did not want to rule out a post in the cabinet forever (…)”. Internal critics do, however, and instead emphasize how important Esken is for the left wing of the party and the calm between the camps.
SPD leader Saskia Esken Photo: picture alliance/dpa
And: It is said that only a lawyer would be suitable for the chancellor as “constitutional minister”. But Esken is a computer scientist and education politician.
► EU Parliament Vice Katarina Barley (54) is said to feel uncomfortable in Brussels and to squint at a post in Berlin. Plus point: Barley is a lawyer, was previously Minister for Family Affairs and Labor and Minister for Justice from March 2018 to June 2019.
However: A new top woman would then be needed for the 2024 European election campaign.
Katarina Barley (SPD) Photo: INA FASSBENDER .
In the Bundestag, meanwhile, it is said that the Rhineland-Palatinate state association in particular would be interested in filling a vacant position in the cabinet. One thing is already clear: Rarely has a Hessian state election been more in the focus of federal politics than the coming one.