Germany announces new family minister after vacation scandal
April 14, 2022
Following the departure of Germany's former Family Minister Anne Spiegel, the Green Party announced on Thursday that lawmaker Lisa Paus will take her position.
Spiegel stepped down on Monday after coming under fire for a four-week vacation she took to France shortly after floods devastated part of Rhineland-Palatinate last year. She was the region's deputy state premier at the time.
She had since been elected to the Bundestag and given the role of minister for family, senior citizens, women and youth. As a member of the Greens, it was up to her party to nominate a replacement.
Paus, 53, has a background in financial and economic policy and comes from the left wing of the party. She has sat in the Bundestag since 2009.
Green party co-leaders Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour confirmed the choice at a press conference. Lang called Paus a "staunch fighter for social justice" while Nouripour her an "excellent successor."
Who is Lisa Paus?
The Green lawmaker and now Cabinet minister has been seen as one of the driving forces behind the coalition government's plan to introduce a basic child allowance.
The concept is being spearheaded by the Greens within the coalition that includes the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) — the party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz — as well as the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP).
According to Germany's Ifo Institute, the basic child allowance could reduce the risk of child poverty by making it easier for parents to claim benefits.
"Child poverty was always a thorn in my side," Paus said on Thursday, adding that the introduction of the basic child allowance was the main task for her term as family minister.
The replacement of Spiegel with Paus is not set to change the balance of power within the Cabinet between coalition partners since both are members of the Greens and this balance is set firm during coalition negotiations.
It will also no upset the factional balance within the party since two of the five Green Cabinet ministers will remain from the left wing of the party. The other three belong to the centrist "Realos" faction.
ab/msh (dpa, AFP, Reuters)