Nancy Faeser in government survey: It’s just not working

On site

Nancy Faeser arrives just in time before the gong sounds. It is 12:59 p.m. and the government poll in the Bundestag will begin in just a few moments. The Federal Minister of the Interior appears tidy and composed. She will have to ask herself critical questions again, and the focus will once again be on the matter that she would like to keep away from herself.

Faeser has completely different worries at the moment. There will be elections in Hesse in two and a half weeks – and it doesn’t look like she could lead the SPD to success there as the top candidate.

Very close

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After all, no one can accuse Faeser of shirking today. The SPD politician has just answered questions in the Interior Committee, now she is facing parliamentarians under the glass dome of the Reichstag.

That is the good news. The bad: It doesn’t get any better.

After Faeser has spoken her introductory words – everything is going well in her department – the Interior Minister expresses a very pious wish to the plenary session: “Dear ladies and gentlemen, let us talk about migration policy, objectively and in a well-founded manner.” Spoiler alert: the opposition will not do her this favor. The first question is aimed at the Arne Schönbohm affair, the Union’s current favorite topic when the Interior Minister is around.

Nancy Faeser fights on many fronts

Under dubious circumstances, or so the CDU and CSU see it, Faeser removed their former president of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) from his position in October 2022. A year later, the Union has rediscovered the issue and is using practically every opportunity to put Faeser under pressure on the matter – also because Faeser has once again given reason to do so.

First she had herself represented at two summonses from the Interior Committee, then she wanted to delay the government survey. The Union invoked its “duty of care” as an opposition, while Faeser complained about a campaign. She understands that in the next few weeks everything will be done to “throw mud at me,” she said when presenting her budget. Faeser wants to be elected Prime Minister of Hesse in October as the SPD’s top candidate. But it’s better to save yourself “theater thunder”. The message: I’ve had enough of the accusations now.

This Wednesday afternoon it becomes clear: Faeser has not developed any new interest in the topic. She tries to keep as much distance as possible from the affair, which doesn’t exactly help her popularity. When asked from the Union when she would “finally” apologize for the “unfounded allegations” to Schönbohm, the Interior Minister reacted harshly: “I have the impression that we took part in different Interior Committee meetings.” There she “answered all the questions and cleared up all the allegations,” says Faeser, who once again reported a loss of trust in the officials. “I would be happy if you listened to me,” especially since she explained further background information to the MPs in the secret part of the committee meeting.

Nevertheless, the public is now learning new information about Schönbohm’s dismissal. Accordingly, the reasons go back “clearly” before the time she took office, and “serious technical differences” regarding cyber threats had existed for a long time. With the Russian war of aggression and the “massive” reporting on Schönbohm – which probably means, among other things, Jan Böhmermann’s ZDF satirical show – the situation has worsened again. “Because of all these reasons, I have withdrawn my trust in Mr. Schönbohm,” says Faeser now.

But why only now?

These days, Faeser is fighting on many fronts and she doesn’t need bad publicity. It’s not just the Schönbohm case. Above all, there is the sluggish election campaign in Hesse and the lousy polls. Things aren’t going well for Faeser; hardly a day goes by without discussions about her. She needs success if she wants to win the race for the State Chancellery in Wiesbaden. On Tuesday, a day before the government poll, she banned the neo-Nazi group“Hammerskins” carried out a nationwide raid – a new blow to right-wing extremism. But the headlines write the low blows.

Recently, Faeser has been ridiculed because of a wording in the Hessian election program. Initially, local voting rights for non-EU foreigners were called for after “six months” – instead of “six years”. An embarrassing editorial error that has since been corrected. But it once again puts Faeser in an unfavorable light, even if she probably has nothing to do with it. As I said: it doesn’t work. “In my opinion, all allegations have been dispelled today,” says Faeser about the Schönbohm allegations.

The opposition obviously sees it differently. Faeser will hardly be able to shake off the critical questions until election day on October 8th. Even if the government survey may not have been a liberating move, there was at least great interest in it. FDP Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger also answered questions from MPs. She was asked 19 questions, Faeser two more. But that’s not a real point win either.