Karl Lauterbach is not a politician of the old school. At the same time, he was always popular with the “rank and file” among those who knew him better: he repeatedly won the direct Social Democratic mandate in his constituency. But he only got into big politics after he had become omnipresent as an expert on talk shows during the corona pandemic. Now he is Health Minister and has to publicly defend politically negotiated compromises, even if as a scientist he does not actually approve of them.
From science to politics
When it comes to the precarious relationship between evidence-based expertise and popular politics, Lauterbach can really babble from school. In this book he speaks from experience. Even his academic career as a medical researcher at German and US universities was not in his blood; the discrimination he experienced against the poorer classes promoted his sensitivity to the social dimensions of education and health care. This created the reason for his political commitment.
A well-established scientist who aspires to politics faces high hurdles. Should he give up a well-paid academic post and interesting job to jump into the snake pit of political intrigue as a backbench? Will he not sooner or later be expelled as an unworldly exotic and then have to deal with the image of the failed politician for the rest of his life?
Politics follows its own rules. Using the current examples of climate change and pandemic, Lauterbach shows how scientific statements on ammunition threaten to degenerate in the dispute. Depending on their political preferences, people’s representatives look for suitable “experts” who support their opinion. However, despite the risk of populist distortions, Lauterbach is convinced that researchers must face up to the political debate in order for an evidence-based climate and health policy to emerge.