Status: 03.11.2021 12:03 p.m.
In his first government statement, the new Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, looked back above all on what had happened in North Rhine-Westphalia in recent years. But he also made new announcements.
The newly elected Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) made his debut on Wednesday morning in front of the state parliament with a government declaration. Above all, Wüst drew a summary of what the black-and-yellow state government has achieved since 2017. The 46-year-old put his demands on himself in advance: “I stand for a policy that addresses and solves problems.” He wants to act courageously and pragmatically, “with an unabashed view of the bigger picture”.
“We have every chance” – this sentence ran through Wüsts’ approximately 45-minute speech with some ambitious announcements, many reviews – and many cloudy formulations.
More protection for children
Wüst announced that he wanted to take action against child poverty. Childcare and early childhood education are to be expanded. He pointed to the 1.3 billion euros that the country had also taken into account for the Child Education Act. Even if the federal government should “pull out of responsibility” in the future, NRW will do everything “for our little ones”.
Against child abuse, Wüst wants to pass a new child protection law in its legislative period, which should “specify the state task in child protection”.
Praise for Minister Gebauer’s school policy
He praised the previous government for having “mobilized record sums” to “connect schools to the fast Internet”. Further steps would have to follow, he wanted to make NRW “a digital educational state”. Wüst promised to ensure that “schools in difficult social situations should be fully equipped with digital devices”. In view of the sometimes disastrous situation with homeschooling at many schools during the corona lockdown, at least an optimistic announcement.
The highly controversial school minister Yvonne Gebauer (FDP) praised Wüst for having drilled “thick boards in education policy” in recent years.
Climate protection not without the steel workers
On the subject of climate protection, Wüst said: He understands that young people take to the streets for this. But he also understands the employees at Thyssen Krupp who demonstrated last week for their future in the steel industry. “Really protecting the climate” is only possible “if we show the world how to preserve good jobs, prosperity and social security at the same time”.
As far as the controversial open-cast lignite mining in North Rhine-Westphalia is concerned, Wüst declared that he was ready to phase out by 2030, “we want to do everything we can to ensure that we succeed”. And: He wants as many villages as possible to be preserved. People need clarity, and that is why he expects clarity “from the new federal government” for an accelerated expansion of renewable energies.
The request to those “for whom the coal phase-out cannot go fast enough, the willingness to finally give up their blockades against faster planning and approval procedures” sounded cryptic. A sentence that Wüst will surely have to explain again in more detail.
Cloudy Announcement: “Strengthen” Nursing Professions
Wüst then announced that he wanted to “strengthen” the nursing professions. As evidence of already “massive” measures, he cited the recognition of nurses from abroad, the doubling of study places and the exemption from school fees in the health professions. He did not speak of the often demanded better wages and working hours.
Wüst also remained vague on the issue of housing shortages: Building Minister Ina Scharrenbach (CDU) had “set the course” so that more and more buildings could be built. Since 2017 the goal of the state government is to “achieve more residential construction in all segments”. Wüst did not mention that there is a problem right here. But at least: Ina Scharrenbach made sure that Germany’s first concrete house made from a 3D printer is now in North Rhine-Westphalia. Wüst concluded that he stood “for a country that courageously seizes its opportunities”.
On October 27, Hendrik Wüst was elected to the highest office in the country as the successor to ex-Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU). The trained lawyer only has until May 2022 to prove his competence – then the next state election is due. It remains to be seen whether the CDU will remain at the helm after that.
Source: wdr.de