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Thomas Oppermann was the deputy speaker of the lower house (Bundestag) of the German Parliament and died after being injured during a shoot for ZDF television. The information was confirmed by RTL and NTV, assumed by dpa. According to the first information, Opperman was taken to the hospital shortly after fainting, but unfortunately the doctors could not do anything for him. The politician from the Social Democratic Party represented the state of Lower Saxony.
Thomas Oppermann had reached a point in his career where he felt the need to take a break from political life. Thus, he had announced at the end of August that he would not stand in the next parliamentary elections. “After 30 years, it’s time to do something else again and start new projects,” said the well-known German politician, whose death came as a shock to all who knew him. The tributes expressed are eloquent in this regard.
Angela Merkel, devastated by the news
Chancellor Angela Merkel, a member of the Christian Democratic Conservative Union, which is participating in a coalition government with the PSD, said she was “shocked and saddened by the untimely death of Thomas Oppermann.” “I have appreciated him for many years as a trustworthy and fair partner in the grand coalition,” he said in a press release. “As Vice President of the German Bundestag, he has rendered a remarkable service to our parliament in difficult times,” Merkel added.
Oppermann began his political career in 1980 and worked at the highest state level in Lower Saxony, holding the position of Minister of Science before moving to national representation in 2005, where he represented Göttingen. He has served as Vice-President of the Bundestag since 2017. From 2013 to 2017, he served as the leader of the center-left SPD parliamentary party in the Bundestag.
SPD Vice President Norbert Walter-Borjans also described the news of Oppermann’s death as “a severe shock to all of us” in a Twitter post. “Thomas Oppermann died suddenly and unexpectedly yesterday. We are deeply shocked and saddened by his family members,” he added.
Reactions at the highest level
The Minister of Labor and SPD deputy, Hubertus Heil, also lamented Oppermann’s “sudden” death. “The news of the sudden death of my colleague and comrade Thomas Opperman fills me with deep sadness,” Heil wrote on Twitter. “With passion and intellect, Thomas did a great service to our country and social democracy. My thoughts are with his family,” added the deceased’s party partner. Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz also reacted.
Scholz is the SPD’s candidate for chancellor in next year’s national elections, calling Oppermann’s death a “blow to all of us.” “We all lose a friend and we are sad,” he wrote on Twitter. “The country is losing a perfect politician, the Bundestag a remarkable vice president and the SPD a passionate and fierce comrade,” added Scholz.
In a statement on Twitter, SPD party representatives said: “We deplore Thomas Oppermann, Vice President of the Bundestag, member of our party and former leader of the parliamentary party. Our thoughts are with his family. “
source: dw.com
