state elections in autumn
Faeser wants to be the SPD’s top candidate in Hesse – and remain federal minister
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD)
© Kay Nietfeld / DPA
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is the SPD’s top candidate for the Hessian state elections on October 8th. She wants to remain Minister of the Interior.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is the SPD’s top candidate for the Hessian state elections on October 8th. She wants to remain interior minister, as the chairwoman of the Hessian SPD said in an interview published on Thursday “Mirror” said. She also announced her decision on Thursday to the employees of the ministry in a letter available to the German Press Agency. Faeser wrote in it that she wanted to be the first woman prime minister in Hesse.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in a double role
There had already been speculation in the past few days about a possible candidacy for Faeser. Not only the Union, but also the coalition partner FDP warned that in times of crisis with a war in Europe, large refugee movements and a continuing high terrorist threat, one cannot lead the Federal Ministry of the Interior and campaign in Hesse at the same time with the necessary commitment.
Should she not be able to become Prime Minister of Hesse after the October 8 election, she wants to remain Federal Minister of the Interior. Faeser pointed out that she had already held the role of leader of the opposition in the Hessian state parliament before moving to Berlin. “I’m applying to the Hessians for the office of prime minister,” she said. “I want to shape things, I want to take responsibility – I’ve already been the leader of the opposition.” Should the voters “decide differently, I will continue to fulfill my responsibility as Federal Minister of the Interior”.
She considers it “a matter of course in a democracy that you can run for elections from an office,” she said. Her position as Minister of the Interior will not suffer from her role as a top candidate in Hesse. “I have taken on responsibility for a very difficult office at very difficult times, and this responsibility requires me to carry out my duties as clearly and seriously as I have done up to now.”
Faeser indicated that she would hold back in the Hessian election campaign. “Now is not the time to campaign,” she said. “We have a terrible war in Europe, the threats are great.” Faeser said she was “in local and state politics in Hesse for more than half my life. “People in Hesse know me.”
In Hesse, the Social Democrats have been in opposition since 1999. The Christian Democrats are entering the race with the incumbent Prime Minister, Boris Rhein. Economics Minister Tarek Al-Wazir is running for the Greens, which have been part of the government since 2014. This Friday, Faeser is in Friedewald at the SPD’s Hesse summit.