In Germany, the chancellor or the chancellor is at the head of the federal government, the president of the Republic does not govern, he is the guarantor of the institutions, he promulgates the laws and signs the treaties. Following the result of the federal elections, he proposes to the parliament, the Bundestag, the candidate for the chancellery. The federal ministers form the federal government and lead their ministry independently, under their responsibility, in accordance with the guidelines set.
The chancellor determines the broad political lines, assuming full responsibility for them. Important element in the functioning of institutions in Germany, the Constitutional Court of Karlsruhe, Bundesverfassungsgericht. The Constitutional Court ensures respect for fundamental rights; ensures the separation of powers between the different organs of the State; arbitrates disputes between the standards enacted by the various State bodies. She is the arbitrator in electoral disputes.
Its role is not restricted to Germany, because it has a right of scrutiny over any European decision, in view of compliance with the German Basic Law of 1949. Thus, the room for maneuver is restricted because any decision can be challenged in the Constitutional Court.
As for the capital, Berlin, which became the capital again after reunification, the parliament, the Bundestag, the Chancellery sit there, it is also the seat of the government, but six ministries remain in Bonn, the former capital.
This government of 16 ministers has an average age of 50.4 years. Four ministers of the new government were members of Angela Merkel’s government. Reform of the European Union, reform of the German economy, of German society, ecological transition, digital transition, modernization of public and private structures, the heavy slate of the new government is a real challenge after 16 “Merkelian” years. The future will tell if this coalition will be able to complete this ambitious program.
“The success of Europe is our most important national concern”, said Olaf Scholz. At the head of the government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in Angela Merkel’s first grand coalition from 2007 to 2009, mayor of Hamburg – a city state from 2011 to 2018 – Olaf Scholz was Minister President there, then returned to Angela Merkel’s government from 2018 to 2021, as Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor of the last government. Very focused on the Franco-German, he showed it when he was at the head of Hamburg, undemonstrative he is decked out with the nickname of “Scholzomat”, contraction of Scholz and automaton.
Wolfgang Schmidt, Minister of the Chancelleryhe is said to be Olaf Scholz’s closest collaborator since 2002. Wolfgang was head of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Germany from 2010 to 2011, he will have to coordinate the action of the government, and manage the collaboration of the government with the Parliament.
Nancy Faeser, Minister of the Interior and Territories, is one of the newcomers to German politics. It inherits a large ministry which includes internal security, integration and protection of the population and the promotion of sport. This lawyer is considered to be on the right of the SPD. Member of the regional assembly of Hesse since 2003, she was secretary general from 2014 to 2019, then since 2019, president of the SPD of Hesse.
Christine Lambrecht, Minister of Defense, was Minister of Justice from 2019 to 2021, and Minister of Family in the last Merkel government. A lawyer, she sat as a member of the Bundestag from 1998 to 2021, and held several positions within the SPD group in Parliament. The task of Minister of Defense will be tough for her, faced with a German army plagued by many difficulties, both in recruitment and in terms of equipment.
Hubertus Heil, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, is the only minister from the previous government to be reappointed to the same portfolio. A graduate in political science and sociology, he has been a member of parliament since 1998, he has held numerous positions within the SPD, including vice-presidency since 2019. In the future, he will have to manage the increase in the minimum wage from 9.60 to 12 euros, as well as the stabilization of the level of pensions and the creation of a citizen’s allowance, even a universal income already tested and discussed with a possible four-day week.
Karl Lauterbach, Minister of Health, doctor and deputy, he has been Angela Merkel’s adviser since the start of the pandemic. Doctor of immunology and health economics, at the famous knot, since 1988 he has been the Institute for Health Economics and Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Cologne. Member of Parliament since 2005, his mission will concern the strengthening of the health system and the care of dependency.
Svenja Schulze, Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Svenja Schulze was from 2010 to 2017, Minister of Innovation, Science and Research of the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia. At the head of the Federal Ministry of the Environment from 2017 to 2021, Svenja Schulze has always positioned herself as a defender of the climate and the environment.
At 53, the native of Düsseldorf will continue this commitment as Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. A graduate in literature and political science, Member of Parliament for North Rhine-Westphalia from 1997 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2018. Her new portfolio will allow her to continue her fight against climate change.
Klara Geywitz, Minister of Housing, Urban Development and Building, was born in the GDR in 1976, she made herself known to the general public by running for the co-presidency of the SPD in 2019, and became its vice-president. A graduate in political science, her political career took place in the Land of Brandenburg. Klara Geywitz will have to innovate because her ministry is a new ministry, so she will have to build everything, and meet the coalition contract which has promised the construction of 400,000 new housing units per year, including 100,000 subsidized. Extensive program!
Annalena Baerbock, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the one who was once approached at the chancellery, is the first woman to head German diplomacy. Co-president of the German Greens since 2018, a graduate in political science and international law, her first steps in politics began as an associate and head of the office of MEP Elisabeth Schroeter, from 2005 to 2008.
Joining the German Greens in 2005, she was 25 years old, she chaired this party in the Land of Brandenburg from 2009 to 2013. Member of the Bundestag in 2013, she is now at the head of a key ministry where European issues and international are more and more topical. Her “afficionados” highlight her dynamism and her authenticity, her detractors already call her “Annelena Chamberlain”.
Robert Habeck is the Minister of Economics and Climate Protection, from the Green Party. Doctor of philosophy, he is known in Germany as a writer, many of whose novels were written with his wife Andrea Paluch. Elected member of Schleswig-Holstein, where he served in the Land government as Minister for Energy Transition, Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Areas, from 2012 to 2018. Since 2018, he has co-chaired the German Greens with Annalena Baerbock.
Cem Özdemir, Minister of Food and Agriculture, he was the first elected to the Bundestag, from an immigrant background. Of Turkish origin, born in Baden-Württemberg, member of the Bundestag from 1994 to 2002, today since 2013, European deputy from 2004 to 2009, he was also co-president of the Greens from 2008 to 2018. Social worker by training , a specialist in foreign policy and transport policy, his mission will consist in reconciling farming, economy and ecology.
Anne Spiegel, Minister for Families, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. A graduate in political science, philosophy and psychology, Anne Spiegel began her political career in the Land of Rhineland-Palatinate, in Parliament, then in the Land government. She was the vice-president of the parliamentary group of the Greens in the Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate from 2011 to 2016, then from 2016 to 2021, Minister of Family and Integration in the government of Rhineland-Palatinate. She presents herself today as the minister of families, in all their plurality.
Steffi Lemke, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, born in the GDR, is the second minister born in East Germany. An agricultural engineer, she was one of the founders of the Greens party in the GDR in 1989. Elected to the Bundestag in 1994, executive secretary of the Greens party until 2013, an environmental activist since her youth, she is used to the actions of mass as the collection of waste from the Elbe, and information campaigns on the preservation and protection of nature.
Christian Lindner, Minister of Finance, had announced the color during the election campaign, for him, it was the Ministry of Finance. At 42, Christian Lindner has achieved his goal. In 2000, he was 20 years old, he sat in the regional assembly of North Rhine-Westphalia, where he became in 2004 the general secretary of the FDP of North Rhine-Westphalia. Member of the Bundestag in 2009, he became the youngest federal president of the Liberals (FDP) in 2013, after his party’s historic defeat in the general elections.
Marco Buschmann, Minister of Justice, is the very close collaborator of Christian Lindner. Member of the FDP since 1994, lawyer by training, elected to the Bundestag from 2009 to 2013, and since 2017.
Volker Wissing, Minister of Digital and Transportdoctor of law, elected to the Bundestag from 2004 to 2013, vice-president of the FDP parliamentary group from 2011 to 2013, then re-elected deputy to the Bundestag in September 2020. Minister of Economy, Transport and Agriculture of the Land of Rhineland-Palatinate from 2016 to 2021. Transport and digital, two key sectors that are part of the “modernization of public and private infrastructure” package, discussed with our guest Kai Littmann.
Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Minister of Education and Researchan economist by training, elected to the Bundestag in 2017, she headed the Bundestag Finance Committee from 2018 to 2020.