The Interior Minister did not come to the state parliament himself, Joachim Herrmann (CSU) sent his ministerial councilor. Julia Mauthofer decided against multi-purpose trousers and in favor of a black skirt and anyone who thinks that the clothing style of a civil servant should not play a role here is right. On the other hand, this Wednesday is all about official fashion. In Hall 1 of the state parliament, the MPs, impeccably and fully dressed, listen to the ministerial councilor’s report. Title of their report: “Supply bottlenecks in the Bavarian Police’s uniforms”.
This item on the agenda will last three quarters of an hour and this three quarters of an hour will not only be about the “multi-purpose summer pants” that have enjoyed a stellar online career in the past few days. The report on backorders for police clothing also includes the “status of shirts/blouses in blue/white” and the “current status of cardigans”. But it’s best to start again with the summer multi-purpose trousers to understand this spectacle that Loriot would certainly have enjoyed.
So on April 1st, a video clip from the German Police Union (DPolG) went viral in which a policewoman and a police officer in their underpants get out of a patrol car. Not an April Fool’s joke, but a cry for help. “Currently, 21 uniform items, such as trousers, jackets and hats, can only be delivered with waiting times of several months,” complained DPolG state chief Jürgen Köhnlein and called for “finally quick relief” from the Interior Ministry. So now the ministry is reacting. Not with a quick fix, as quickly became clear in the Interior Committee on Wednesday, but at least with a report.
And so back to Ministerial Councilor Mauthofer. It confirms to the Interior Committee the supply chain problems as a result of the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine – but there is also good news, especially with the “multi-purpose summer trousers”. Mauthofer can report: “The backorders for this trouser model have now been reduced, with the exception of a few special sizes.” The catch: There is now a lack of “representation pants,” for which demand has “increased significantly due to the lack of multi-purpose pants in the summer.” A vicious circle.
There is also good news and bad news when it comes to cardigans and wool hats. The good thing: The delivery problems are no longer as big as they were in winter. The bad news: The wool hat season is now over. Almost like last summer, when short-sleeved shirts were scarce, there were plenty of long-sleeved shirts. CSU MP Alfred Grob asks whether you can “prioritize seasonally” when ordering. “I have to agree with you,” says Ministerial Councilor Mauthofer, summing up again: “Wool hats will now be in less demand in the next few months.”
Wolfgang Hauber (Free Voters) thinks that some police officers’ shirts are “very, very big”. He wants to know whether this is a “purely Bavarian problem”. Mauthofer replies that there are “of course similar problems” elsewhere. Well, says CSU man Grob, there are no delivery problems with the Tyrolean police. Could Austria help out with clothes if something is missing in Bavaria? “From the outside it all looks dark blue,” says Mauthofer about the police colors in Bavaria and Austria. In reality, there are “subtle differences,” including in cut and fabric. You “can’t just use it in other countries”.
Holger Dremel (CSU) then attempts to tone down the problem a little: “Anyone who has their eyes open can see that no one is running around naked outside.” In addition, there is now “dynamism” at the Ministry of the Interior. However, the dynamics are such that the Bavarian police will no longer obtain their uniforms from the Lower Saxony police logistics center “by 2027 at the earliest”, but from their own in Hof, which, according to Mauthofer, should be completely ready “by around 2030” and accelerate the processes . “Too late,” says Florian Siekmann (Greens). Markus Schirmer from the police union (GdP) also sees “small adjustments” that the ministry is currently making. “The will is there,” says Schimmer. The only thing missing is the clothes.