Interior Minister Faeser announces candidacy for Hesse - and wants to keep Minister's office

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is the SPD's top candidate for the Hessian state elections on October 8th. She wants to remain interior minister even in the event of a defeat. She informed her employees in a letter that is available to WELT. The letter said: "I know that many of you are wondering whether I will apply for the post of Prime Minister in my home country of Hesse in October. And it's important to me that you find out from me: Yes, I'm running for office. I am the first woman to head the Federal Ministry of the Interior - and I would like to be the first female Prime Minister in Hesse. And you know me: I compete to win.”

According to Faeser, she wanted to create "clarity from the start": If the "voters decide differently in the democratic competition, I will continue to fulfill my responsibility as Federal Minister of the Interior".

In a democracy it is a matter of course that candidates also "run for elections from offices". “The times are too serious for a long election campaign anyway. The effects of the terrible Russian war of aggression against Ukraine continue to concern us very much.” She also wants to “implement the diverse reforms that we have undertaken with the coalition agreement”.

There had already been speculation in the past few days about a possible candidacy for Faeser. Not only the Union, but also the coalition partner FDP warned that in times of crisis with a war in Europe, large refugee movements and a continuing high terrorist threat, one cannot lead the Federal Ministry of the Interior and campaign in Hesse at the same time with the necessary commitment.

The politician, who was little known nationwide before Olaf Scholz (SPD) surprisingly appointed him Federal Minister of the Interior, used her office as head of the largest German ministry to emphasize right-wing extremism as the greatest threat to democracy in the Federal Republic. So far, she has shown relatively little interest in one of the main tasks of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, namely reducing illegal entries into the federal territory. These have increased significantly during their tenure. For example, Faeser's ministry has also opened up the integration courses for asylum seekers entering the country without permission from countries with little chance of recognition, and has extended the issuing of residence permits to rejected asylum seekers with an unclear identity. Last week she opposed a move by the EU Commission at EU level to increase the pressure on countries of origin of rejected asylum seekers who are unwilling to take them back, for example by threatening visa restrictions for tourists who want to travel to the EU from these countries.

In Hesse, the Social Democrats have been in opposition since 1999. The Christian Democrats are entering the race with the incumbent Prime Minister, Boris Rhein. Economics Minister Tarek Al-Wazir is running for the Greens, which have been part of the government since 2014. This Friday, Faeser is in Friedewald at the SPD's Hesse summit.