DThe former Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of the Environment and current Federal Minister for Family Affairs Anne Spiegel (Greens) defended her behavior regarding the flood in the Ahr Valley in mid-July. Before the investigative committee of the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament in Mainz, Spiegel said late on Friday evening that it was “absolutely wrong” that at any point in time she had any priority other than helping people. She also stated that she “completely trusted” employees of her then ministry when it came to information about the flood situation; everyone involved worked “very conscientiously”.
Spiegel had recently been sharply criticized after it became known that on the morning of July 15, when it was already clear that there had been a catastrophe overnight, she had exchanged words with employees – probably assuming , she could be blamed for responsibility. In addition, her ministry had not corrected a warning press release (“no extreme floods”) on July 14, against better knowledge.
Riddles about telephone connections
Even after Spiegel’s appearance, many questions remained unanswered. It is unclear, for example, to what extent the minister had any contact with employees on the evening of the flood. According to an overview of his telephone connections, the State Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment, Erwin Manz (Greens), tried to reach her at 10:24 p.m. Manz told the committee that Spiegel called back shortly afterwards, saying it was a “short, concise exchange”. Spiegel made a similar statement. However, there is no recall from Spiegel in the files of the committee of inquiry. Manz stated that he only made a list of the outgoing calls. He did not inform the committee of this out of “carelessness”. Spiegel said that there were no individual connections from her telephone provider because she had a “flat rate”.
The committee has no communication at all about Manz – email or telephone – for the period between 6:28 p.m. and 9:23 p.m. on July 14. During this time, many places on the Ahr were flooded by water. Manz stated that he may have “ate something” or “done the office mail” during that time, and possibly also received calls. He went to bed around 11 p.m., possibly watching the news beforehand and drinking “a beer”.
Spiegel stated that on the night of the flooding it was still on the phone until two in the morning. She had also written this – without being asked – to Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) on the morning of July 15 via messenger service. For the period from the phone call with Manz (before 11:00 p.m.) to 2:00 a.m., Spiegel only gave two people to talk to: her husband and the leader of the Greens parliamentary group in the state parliament, Bernhard Braun.
Press release overtaken by reality
The Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of the Environment sent out a press release on July 14 at 4:43 p.m., in which Spiegel was quoted as saying that there was “no extreme flooding” – although large parts of the Ahr were already flooded at the time. A corrective press release with a warning was not sent out, although State Secretary Manz wrote to press office staff shortly after the press release was sent out that the press release was “outdated”. When asked by a member of the press office whether something had to be done about it, Manz wrote, “not today”.
Manz had already received a flood situation report at 11:20 a.m. on July 14, which stated that “significant flooding” was to be expected for the Ahr area. He also stated that he had known by 6 p.m. at the latest that an “extreme event” was taking place on the Ahr due to various messages. Spiegel stated that in light of the events today, a “different wording” would probably be chosen for the press release. But such is not part of a reporting chain. From July 14th to 15th, 134 people died on the Ahr, more than 700 were injured, many were surprised by the floods that night.
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