A New Federal Cabinet Takes Shape: Pistorius Remains Defense Minister - Bärbel Bas Becomes Labor Minister
- *
Defense Ministry stays with Pistorius; Baas transitions to Labor Ministry position - Defense Minister Position Remains with Pistorius; Bas Assumes Labour Ministry
The outgoing Rhineland-Palatinate education minister, Stefanie Hubig, is slated to move on to the SPD's justice portfolio, with the deputy SPD parliamentary group leader, Verena Hubertz, taking up the role of minister of construction, and the migration and anti-racism commissioner, Reem Alabali-Radovan, being named minister of development. The outgoing commissioner for eastern affairs, Carsten Schneider, gets the minister of the environment role.
Following the announcement of the SPD ministers, the signing of the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD will be on the agenda for the afternoon. On Tuesday, CDU leader Friedrich Merz is expected to be elected federal chancellor, and federal president Frank-Walter Steinmeier will officially appoint the new government members. Following the appointment, Merz and the ministers will be sworn in at the Bundestag.
"Due to the disappointing results in the federal election, we have jointly announced a personnel and content-related realignment," explained SPD chairmen Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken, along with general secretary Matthias Miersch, regarding the personnel decisions. "With our government team, we are taking the next step as party leadership," they stressed. "Experienced personalities from federal and state politics meet new faces representing the generational change within the SPD."
As a central goal of the SPD’s government work, Klingbeil, Esken, and Miersch have pledged to "advance the planned modernization of Germany through massive investments." Bärbel Bas, as the new labor minister, is to ensure that the interests of employees and their families are strengthened. In the development ministry, the SPD aims to ensure that Germany fulfills its responsibilities in the world.
The outgoing co-SPD chairwoman Esken is not represented in the new government, nor is the outgoing labor minister Hubertus Heil, interior minister Nancy Faeser, health minister Karl Lauterbach, development minister Svenja Schulze, and construction minister Klara Geywitz.
The new commissioner for eastern affairs will be the outgoing parliamentary state secretary in the ministry of construction, Elisabeth Kaiser. The state minister and commissioner of the federal government for migration, refugees, and integration will be the outgoing commissioner for expellees and national minorities, Natalie Pawlik.
The German Judges' Association welcomed the appointment of Hubig to the justice portfolio. "It is an important signal that Stefanie Hubig, an experienced politician with a strong judiciary background, will become the new minister," explained the federal chairman of the judges' association, Sven Rebehn.
On the nomination of the experienced, long-standing SPD member and former Bundestag president Bärbel Bas for the environmental portfolio, Green environmental politician Jan-Niclas Gesenhues expressed hope for her ability to make a positive impact in the challenging domain. The enormous challenges for the environment require effective implementation of policies.
The organization One expressed optimism for "fresh impulses" in development policy under the new department head, Alabali-Radovan. It identified the fight against poverty, hunger, preventable diseases, and the climate crisis as necessary priorities.
- SPD
- CDU
- Cabinet List
- Bärbel Bas
- Boris Pistorius
- CSU
- Reem Alabali-Radovan
- Lars Klingbeil
- Federal Cabinet
- Stefanie Hubig
- Key Position
- Saskia Esken
- Friedrich Merz
- Matthias Miersch
- Bundestag
- Germany
- Justice
- Coalition Agreement
- Leader
- Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Note: Bärbel Bas, formerly the President of the Bundestag, has now been appointed as the Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs in Friedrich Merz’s coalition government. As the new labor minister, she will face challenges such as labor shortages, vocational training reforms, and stabilizing pension financing amid economic stagnation. Her negotiation skills, honed during her tenure as Bundestag president, will be essential in the contentious coalition government.
- The CDU's leader, Friedrich Merz, is expected to be elected as the federal chancellor later, as per the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD.
- Bärbel Bas, the former President of the Bundestag, has been appointed as the Federal Minister for Labor and Social Affairs in Merz's coalition government.
- As the new labor minister, Bärbel Bas will face challenges such as labor shortages, vocational training reforms, and stabilizing pension financing amid economic stagnation.
- Bas' negotiation skills, honed during her tenure as Bundestag president, will be essential in the contentious coalition government.
