SPD defeat in NRW admitted
Klingbeil scolds Lauterbach
May 16, 2022, 6:16 p.m
While the Social Democrats still think they have a chance of winning the government after their crash in North Rhine-Westphalia, Health Minister Lauterbach pushes ahead and concedes defeat. For this he receives scolding from the SPD leader. Klingbeil, on the other hand, wipes doubts about Defense Minister Lambrecht off the table.
According to “Spiegel”, the crash of the Social Democrats in the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia caused controversy behind the scenes. In the presidium meeting of the SPD, party leader Lars Klingbeil took on Health Minister Karl Lauterbach because he had described the result as a clear defeat shortly after the polling stations closed, the magazine reported.
It would be good if, in such an election, everyone adhered to the communication strategy that had been decided, Klingbeil – “also a federal minister” – was quoted as saying by participants at the meeting. Lauterbach himself was not present at the meeting. According to the report, several participants confirmed Klingbeil’s criticism.
The health minister had intoned his analysis of the NRW result on the evening of the election in a strikingly different way than the party leadership. While Klingbeil and SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert emphasized that they had achieved the central election goal of replacing the black and yellow state government, Lauterbach emphasized the poor result of the SPD.
“We lost this election. The Union and the Greens won, so they have to have the talks first. Everything else comes afterwards,” said Lauterbach on Sunday evening on ARD. At the top of the party, the health minister’s statements were quickly seen as strategically unfortunate, since several coalition options are conceivable – including the traffic light led by the Social Democrats.
Board dissatisfied with SPD ministerial team
According to insider information, the SPD federal executive committee also criticized the performance of some SPD ministers. While Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shine with the best poll numbers for the Greens, the SPD cabinet ranks seem too pale, said the meeting participants of the Reuters news agency. This is likely to have been aimed primarily at Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, who is often perceived as the wrong choice at home and abroad.
However, the head of the SPD gave her a job guarantee after the meeting. “She is defense minister, she will remain so, she also has the backing of the party leadership,” he said. “She is a good defense minister and she will achieve a lot in this House,” said Klingbeil.