Söder-Wende: Why he really dismisses Minister of Health Huml – Another problem child remains

Munich – Sometimes an office is a humiliation, Markus Söder experienced that myself. 13 years ago Günther Beckstein made him European Minister. This is a kind of deputy caretaker in the State Chancellery, a title without department or glamor, only at the cat table when appearing in Brussels. “Slap in the face for Söder”, the press headlined maliciously. “I can prove myself there now,” the ambitious young minister puffed back in 2007.

If Söder had a Party friend to the European Minister so he knows what he’s doing to her. Without any noticeable emotion. In a few terse sentences at his press conference on Epiphany, Söder announced that he Melanie Huml takes the management of the Ministry of Health out of their hands and brings them to the State Chancellery for European issues. He sends a few friendly words afterwards, they hang like lonely tinsel threads on a needling Christmas tree. As a key point: “This is a sovereign decision that is discussed with everyone.” So: He made the decision and communicated it.

Markus Söder: Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, he has been angry with the Minister of Health

Huml’s forced transfer comes suddenly, but not surprisingly. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Söder has been angry with his minister. On paper, the young woman from Upper Franconia, a trained doctor and mother of small children, is an ideal person for the department, with a pleasant demeanor, calm and never CSU dull. In practice, however, she had a bad grip on her ministry and external image, was rarely able to speak, and generally too inconspicuous. There was always trouble, also about the officials in the house.

Söder put top lawyers from the State Chancellery and the city of Munich in front of her nose, then twice a State Secretary, a new press spokesman, relocated the head of a state office, increased dozens of positions, paid special bonuses – nothing helped in the long term. The summer will be remembered when the displeasure about the test breakdowns on the motorways rocked so high that all of Germany blasphemed the minister from Bavaria. Huml offered Söder her resignation in August, twice; he generously declined, but made the offer public.

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One may find that mean; where Söder himself had initiated the huddle in the motorway tests, had even tailored the small ministry and no minister, whether too loud or too quiet, could please him anyway. For Huml that meant: Grace period. Perhaps she would have held out in office had not individual vaccination matrices been added at the end of December when the cold chain broke off in Upper Franconia. And allegations that Bavaria is transporting the vaccine in commercial beer coolers for camping vacationers.

So transferred, not fired: The 45-year-old now takes care of Federal and European issues, so kind of all or nothing. That saves her the ministerial title and Söder the holy quota for women. The Swabian will succeed in the Ministry of Health Klaus Holetschek, most recently State Secretary. He values ​​clearer words, is seen as hands-on, has more authority in the ministry. In an interview, the 56-year-old talks about the new challenge.

In the second Problem ministry nothing changes for the time being: The Free Voters, the coalition partner, decide on the Minister of Education Michael Piazolo FW boss Hubert Aiwanger said at the online Epiphany: “We are not free from mistakes either, we are not miracle healers who can solve all problems.” Piazolo should stay – even in the absence of alternatives with the same high level of expertise, more assertiveness and with FW -Party book.

List of rubric lists: © Peter Kneffel / dpa