His alarmism may be annoying, but his specialist knowledge speaks clearly for him: If the traffic light coalition really wants to break new ground, it has to make Karl Lauterbach the successor to Jens Spahn.
The other day there was great tremor among caregivers. It was said that the FDP should provide the health minister. What was received with fear, above all, was the name of the alleged candidate for the post: Michael Theurer. Jens Spahn would be followed by an economist who is described on the website of the FDP parliamentary group as “responsible for ‘getting ahead through personal performance’: work and social affairs, health, tourism, economy and energy”. In other words: health is just one of its many areas.
The Ministry of Health requires detailed expertise that cannot be built up in a matter of weeks. The new incumbent must act quickly. Especially not now that the health system is revealing mistakes and hundreds of caregivers are dismissing them out of frustration – he will not have time to familiarize himself with it for months. Because if nothing fundamental happens during this electoral term, the care emergency will be even worse than it already is.
Now that it is clear that the Ministry of Health will go to the Social Democrats, an obvious name is constantly being mentioned: Karl Lauterbach. Hardly anyone polarizes as strongly as the SPD politician. For some he is a hysteric who constantly spreads panic because he always puts one on top of bad news. For the others, he is a worried admonisher who, always well informed, educates the population about the virus.
He would be the best possible candidate
As is so often the case, the truth lies somewhere in between. Lauterbach is very much an alarm siren without a switch-off button, its constant warning leads to annoyance for some. It is not what has been said that is annoying, but rather the penetrance that Lauterbach displays during the day – and in the evening when he is with Anne Will and Co. He himself says about it: “For someone who is an epidemiologist, the warning is a widespread currency in the political business.” This is honest, but also sad and not helpful because it creates or intensifies panic.
However, the truth also includes: Lauterbach was mostly correct in assessing the pandemic, his advice made sense in many ways, large parts of the population trust him and listen to him. He’s definitely not a politician who can be accused of being lazy. On the contrary, he is a workaholic who whistles in the latest corona studies at night. Lauterbach is definitely a specialist. He studied medicine and is (on leave) professor and head of the Institute for Health Economics and Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Cologne.
That is exactly what makes him the best possible candidate for the post of Minister of Health. After the FDP man Philipp Rösler more than ten years ago, he would be the first doctor in the department’s executive chair – that alone speaks for him, even if he does not practice and does not know the daily routine of the clinic from his own experience. But Lauterbach has a thick skin, which is imperative for the ministerial post, which has to deal with a host of lobbyists. When the grand coalition was formed four years ago, he almost got a chance. Lauterbach accepted the decision in favor of Spahn and later helped him to work through many points of the coalition agreement.
A warning example is Anja Karliczek
It would be bitter if the cup were to pass the Social Democrat again just because he comes from the wrong region and is of the wrong gender. Olaf Scholz would like to form his cabinet equally. Well and good. But specialist knowledge and years of political experience at the federal level would be even better. Yes, Lauterbach is an I-AG and a first-person shooter. But you need self-conviction to run a ministry of this importance.
The concern that Lauterbach, as a minister, would warn, oracle and blackmail every day is certainly justified. That would not do the mood good in a country of irritable mood and bare nerves. But Lauterbach would be surrounded by spokesmen who would curb him. The man is not stupid and he is loyal. A whistle from Chancellor Scholz and he should pull himself at the belt. Lauterbach may be vain, but he is not an unpredictable cannonball that flips through the government district as a permanent danger.
If the SPD and the Ampelkoalition actually want to establish a new political style of cooperation, as their representatives repeatedly assert, they should decide based on competence and not prevent Lauterbach because he is decried as a first-person shooter. A warning example is Anja Karliczek. At the beginning of 2018, Chancellor Angela Merkel took her party colleague out of political no man’s land and made her Minister of Education and Research. It was a wrong choice, which only became clear when the whole of Germany discussed the importance of research and free science in the pandemic.
Nevertheless, Karliczek wanted to stay in office. “After four years I know the adjusting screws that have to be turned in order to implement Armin Laschet’s promise of a decade of modernization.” Germany can no longer afford to practice four years – especially not in the healthcare sector.