It was an open secret: Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is the top candidate in the Hesse elections. She announced her candidacy in an interview.
Berlin – The SPD has confirmed its top candidate for the election campaign in Hesse: Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. The SPD politician is running against CDU Prime Minister Boris Rhein in the state elections. “I am the first woman to head the Federal Ministry of the Interior – and I would like to be the first female Prime Minister in Hesse. I will run for office,” said the minister in an interview with the mirror. Faeser is to be officially nominated on Friday.
Hesse election 2023: Nancy Faeser (SPD) is the top candidate in the state elections
The state elections in Hesse will take place on October 8th. There had already been speculation in the past few days about Nancy Faeser’s possible candidacy. Above all, the desired dual role as minister and top candidate provided a topic for discussion. If Faeser really took her job seriously, she would have given up the top candidate, according to the deputy leader of the Union faction, Andrea Lindholz (CSU).
Not only the Union, but also coalition partners FDP and the Greens warned that in times of crisis with a war in Europe, large refugee movements and a continued high terrorist threat, one cannot lead the Federal Ministry of the Interior and campaign in Hesse at the same time with the necessary commitment. There were even calls for Faeser’s resignation. “This office is not intended to be misused as an election campaign platform,” said party and faction leader of the federal AfD, Alice Weidel t-online.
Nancy Faeser is the top candidate in Hesse and is receiving criticism – the SPD calls for “a little more composure”
The parliamentary manager of the SPD parliamentary group, Katja Mast, rejected the criticism of Faeser’s dual role. “It is quite normal in a democracy for politicians to also hold offices during election campaigns.” In this respect, she advises “a little more composure”.
Faeser is said to have the backing of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) anyway. After the recent change in the defense department, the head of government is said to have little interest in further cabinet reshuffles. Nevertheless, Faeser’s approach also harbors a danger: there are many examples in history in which voters did not appreciate it when top candidates in a state election campaign kept open a return ticket for the federal government.
For Hesse and in the federal government: Faeser considers the dual role in the election campaign to be justified – also because of her origin
Faeser himself considers the criticism made to be inappropriate. When asked whether her approach was not too undecided for the election campaign in the Hesse election in 2023, the politician said mirror: “In a democracy I think it goes without saying that you can run for elections from an office. After all, that’s what the Prime Ministers who are standing for election this year, including those of the CDU and CSU in Bavaria and Hesse, do.”
In the SPD, reference is also made to Faeser’s origins. The lawyer was involved in state politics in Hesse for almost two decades – whether as a member of parliament or as state and parliamentary group leader. Her appointment to the federal cabinet was more of a surprise. Because on the Berlin stage, she was unknown to many observers until the traffic light coalition was formed.
Children, husband, father: Faeser’s family is closely linked to Hesse
Nancy Faeser comes from Hesse. She was born on July 13, 1970 in Bad Soden, Hesse. The Catholic Faeser grew up not far from her birthplace in Schwalbach am Taunus. Here her father Horst, himself an inveterate social democrat, was mayor for many years. The new Ampel Minister of the Interior has remained true to her home town even after her marriage to Eyke Grüning and the birth of her child. To this day, the SPD politician lives with her husband and their son in Schwalbach.
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. There she should then be officially nominated as a candidate. (jkf/dpa)
#Interior #Minister #Faeser #top #candidate #Hesse #election