The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach can now live out his knowledge in a ministerial office. The network does not leave this news cold.
Berlin – “It will be” – with these words the designated Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced on Monday (December 6th, 2021) what many hoped for, but what some might have feared: Karl Lauterbach will become Federal Minister of Health. Since the beginning of the pandemic, he has been considered the health minister of the heart, who classified studies on the coronavirus on a daily basis, made clear statements and defended science – and persistently persuaded those who did not want to know about strict corona measures. In view of the high number of infections, this is likely to continue for the time being.
In contrast to the former Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU), who was previously outside the field, SPD man Lauterbach holds a doctorate in medicine and – in line with the current challenges – can demonstrate a specialization in epidemiology. Until he moved into the Bundestag in 2005, he headed the Institute for Health Economics and Clinical Epidemiology (IGKE) at the University of Cologne. He also teaches at the elite Harvard University in the United States.
Karl Lauterbach (SPD) becomes Minister of Health: reactions from the network
The SPD took significantly longer to nominate its ministers than the coalition partners Greens and FDP did. Shortly after the coalition agreement was finalized, it was already clear that Christian Lindner (FDP) would become finance minister and that the economics and climate ministry would go to Robert Habeck (Greens). The reactions to it, however, were hardly comparable to those that flooded the network after yesterday’s announcement. The fact that Karl Lauterbach should become Minister of Health caused a great stir. In addition to congratulations and criticism, as it is also considered polarizing, the decision caused numerous funny reactions. We have put a few together:
1. The comedy writer Lutz van der Horst, for example, mentioned the Lauterbach district of Völklingen on Twitter and commented: “It’s bad how the city of Völklingen is jumping on the road to success.”
2. Just a few days ago the new candidate for the CDU chairmanship, Friedrich Merz, criticized Lauterbach for not becoming Minister of Health. According to rumors, the SPD was considering filling the post with a woman. Merz used this to insinuate the party that gender counts more than competence. However, a few days later he was taught better, which the designated SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert commented with a dry “Düdüm” in view of the new development.
3. The ZDF satirical program “heute-show” could not resist a snappy comment on Lauterbach as health minister:
4. The NDR satirical magazine “extra3” mocked Lauterbach’s pronounced presence on talk shows on the subject of the corona pandemic – an occupation for which he, as a minister, should probably no longer have time. And the talk shows have to look for a new expert.
5. The satire portal “Postillon” also jumps on this train with the headline “ARD is taking ‘Maischberger’, ‘Hart aber fair’ and ‘Anne Will’ out of the program because Lauterbach will soon run out of time”.
6. Numerous memes about Lauterbach as the final boss of the coronavirus are already circulating on Instagram:
7. Memes like the one above give the impression of high expectations of the future minister of health. But the former SPD politician Christopher Lauer warns against this. Lauterbach will not do everything perfectly either, but it should be compared with its predecessor:
8. Robert Fietzke, youth coordinator at the Left in Saxony-Anhalt, also refers to the outgoing Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) and asks on Twitter: “Can you hear the tears that Jens #Spahn is crying for? Neither do I.”
