Thorsten Frei Stands Firm: "I'm No Politician Pansy"
Foreign Affairs Commissioner Frei declares:
In his new role as the head of the Federal Chancellery, Thorsten Frei is making waves. He's all about being an "honest broker" for the German government. "Sure, I'll hold back on the dramatics," Frei told Der Spiegel. "But I'm a CDU federal minister, not apolitical castrato!"
With the black-red coalition showing signs of stability, Frei is setting ambitious goals. "This government will last four years," he declares. To make it happen, they've agreed on flexibility in handling the coalition agreement. "If reality serves up lemons, we'll put the agreement on ice – and find a new solution," he promised. The government must get moving swiftly. "We want to show before the parliamentary summer break that the new government is just plain different from the old one," Frei said.
Despite his earlier criticism of the Chancellery's expansion as a "vanity project," Frei intends to push forward with the costly project. "Constructing a sensible decision to halt the expansion is long overdue," Frei admitted, but "something's growing where the Chancellery once stood, and we'll find a cost-efficient solution for continued construction."
When Chancellor Olaf Scholz expanded the Chancellery personnel, costs skyrocketed to approximately 800 million euros. Despite criticisms from Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Scholz remained committed to the expansion.
Personnel Reduction Plans
In his new position, Frei promises to reduce personnel in the Chancellery. A two-percent reduction per year has been agreed in the coalition agreement. "Doesn't apply just to the Chancellery," Frei insisted. "I can't ask others to endure unpleasant measures without practicing what I preach myself." The federal government's size has ballooned over the years, with few exceptions. "It's high time we bucked that trend," Frei said.
Diving into commissioner positions, Frei finds many of them falling under the category of "joke or illusion." It's time to put a stop to the "commissioner madness." This isn't just a cost-cutting move, but a quest for better state organization.
The source: ntv.de and gut
- German Bundestag
- Thorsten Frei
- Federal Chancellery
- Black-Red
- Administrative Reform
Insights:
Thorsten Frei's commitment to reducing personnel and streamlining administrative functions in the Federal Chancellery is part of wider state and administrative reforms focused on cutting bureaucracy and improving efficiency. This alignment with the broader aim to improve digitalization enforcement suggests that technological efficiencies may assist in creating a leaner administration. The coalition's plans to review tasks and costs across different government levels will likely contribute to reducing redundancies and streamlining personnel deployment. Although no specific figures or deadlines have been publicly disclosed, Thorsten Frei's efforts indicate gradual changes to be expected in the Federal Chancellery as part of the ongoing administrative reforms.
[1] Coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD parties, April 2025[2] Sources: spiegel.de, tagesschau.de, and wirtschaftswoche.de.
- Thorsten Frei, the head of the Federal Chancellery, has assured a personnel reduction of 2% per year in the Chancellery, as agreed in the coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD parties.
- In a bid to cut bureaucracy and improve efficiency, Frei has also promised to review and streamline administrative functions in the Federal Chancellery.
- The coalition's plans to review tasks and costs across different government levels suggest that a reduction in redundancies and streamlined personnel deployment may be expected.
- Despite earlier criticisms, Frei is moving forward with the costly project of expanding the Chancellery, emphasizing the need for a cost-efficient solution for continued construction.
