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Status: 01.03.2021 7:00 pm
Lower Saxony Health Minister Carola Reimann (SPD) has resigned from her post with immediate effect. This was announced by the State Chancellery. Health reasons are decisive.
After detailed medical examinations, she must be treated immediately in a hospital, Carola Reimann said. It is foreseeable that she will only be able to exercise her official functions to a very limited extent in the near future, according to the 53-year-old woman. The development of the pandemic requires “at least one hundred percent commitment” and great physical resistance from all politically responsible people. However, in the near future it will not be possible “to continue doing this work to the extent required,” Reimann said. The decision was communicated to Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) in a personal conversation that morning, according to the State Chancellery.
Daniela Behrens will be the successor
According to information from NDR in Lower Saxony, Daniela Behrens will succeed Carola Reimann. This is expected to be announced tomorrow and confirmed by the state parliament this week. Behrens is currently head of department at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs in Berlin. The 52-year-old is familiar with the Lower Saxony state government and the processes in the ministries, until four years ago she was Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Economy in Hannover. He then withdrew in the course of a case about incorrect contract awards.
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Because he thanks Reimann for his “huge commitment”
Prime Minister Weil was concerned about Reimann’s immediate resignation and the circumstances. He fully understands that she “now gives absolute priority to her health.” Weil thanked Reimann for the work he had done in the ministry for the past three and a half years. In particular, he praised his work on the corona pandemic. “During the twelve months of the Corona crisis, he worked tirelessly with great experience and enormous commitment to ensure that Lower Saxony faced the pandemic somewhat unscathed,” Weil said. The leader of the SPD parliamentary group, Johanne Modder, also emphasized Reimann’s performance in recent months. As Minister of Health, “she always acted responsibly and led Lower Saxony safely through the crisis.”
Greens: the decision deserves recognition
Green Group leader Julia Willie Hamburg reacted with dismay, wishing Reimann “a lot of strength to deal with the disease in the coming weeks; health comes first.” Hamburg stressed that the decision deserved recognition and was “consistent”: the office of the Minister of Social Affairs was a key ministry in the Corona crisis that would have to take on important tasks in the coming weeks. Hamburg thanked Reimann for the cooperation with the opposition, “even if we had made some decisions differently.”
FDP demands rapid succession
The leader of the FDP parliamentary group, Stefan Birkner, was also concerned about the resignation for health reasons. The whole group sends sincere wishes for well-being. At the same time, he came out in favor of Reimann’s successor being quickly clarified. “In the current crisis, it is important that the vacancy is closed quickly. The crisis requires that someone be appointed not on purely partisan considerations, but on the basis of relevant qualifications and management skills,” Birkner said.
AWO: Important Accents Set for Social Policy
Marco Brunotte, Managing Director of AWO Niedersachsen, said that Reimann had set important accents for social policy in Lower Saxony and ensured a good and open atmosphere for discussion. He also wished the Minister all the best.
Criticisms of crisis management
Reimann had been Minister of Health since late 2017. Recently, the health policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group was repeatedly criticized as a crisis manager, for example, due to technical problems in the allocation of vaccination appointments and the slow progress of vaccination. The FDP had at the end of January demanded his resignation. Reimann was also heavily criticized in the Chamber of Nursing case that failed last year.
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