A reshuffled dream team for Schröder

Economics and labour minister, Wolfgang Clement, has twigged that 2004 is not going to be a year of upswing in the economy, but upswing in the number of jobless. He’s already fearful of the howls of the media demanding results pledged instead of announcements. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has given up his chairmanship of the Social Democratic Party and Clement is mad about this “resignation in instalments”. Clement is gaining power in relation to Schröder. It’s because he knows that his resignation would be an admission by this government of its failure but also the healing end of his play-acting with the upswing drivel ( http://www.mbi-mh.de/MBI-Programm/jenseits_des_Kirchturms/Clement_Superstar_/Clement_presse0009.html#298).

And: Manfred Stolpe, in the thick of the truck toll debacle, to become innovation minister?

To move Germany forward again ...


That’s why Schröder might be busy not just with a cabinet reshuffle, but also a reshuffling of the ministries. That’s the subject of our tongue-in-cheek special report about Red/Green.


Fugmann-Hesing and Birgit Breuel heading up the "Social Mini-Stry I" responsible for pensions, old age nursing care and unemployment benefit

Hartz I, II, III, IV etc. have proved their worth. That is why there are now "Social Ministry I" and "Social Ministry II". Frau Ulla Schmidt remains in charge of "Social Ministry II" focused mainly on health insurance. To get a grip on the problems of the other social security systems, experienced experts are needed. The solution is a double leadership of the new "Social Ministry I" accepted by the CDU/CSU-dominated Bundesrat. Similarly to how Rita Süssmuth (CDU) was already given government responsibilities by Schröder, he might succeed in persuading Frau Birgit Breuel to come onboard. She would bring three qualifications to the job: 1. Privatisation of the state assets of the former GDR; 2. privatisation of EU tax funds through the bankruptcy of the Bremer Vulkan shipyards under an SPD-dominated supervisory board and 3. the financial mismanagement of the Hanover Expo ( http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/12725).
As in the case of Treuhand and Bremer Vulkan, tax funds were also successfully privatised with Expo: 2.5 billion DM, in close, trusting planning with the then premier of Lower Saxony, Gerhard Schröder, with the successful execution continuing under Chancellor Schröder. This qualifies her to head up the new "Social Ministry I". No one else can present more projects than these to be given care of the jobless funding under Red Green and to head from the black zero (break-even announcement for Expo) to bottomless, irretrievable indebtedness. The same kind that Finance Minister Hans Eichel has achieved for the national budget. That is why Eichel won’t be reshuffled.
But if the CDU woman Breuel were exceptionally to be won, where does that leave the worker wing of the Social Democrats, the elite in social competence? What is elite? When as the person responsible for privatisation of 21 billion tax money in Berlin after the scandal breaks one holds down a great job as a bonus under the successor government. These are the outstanding qualities possessed by the former Social Democrat finance minister of Berlin, Frau Fugmann-Hesing. Never mind that swimming pools and social facilities are having to be closed down. In cooperation with Breuel she will manage to wreck the pensions and aged nursing insurance. They just need to take their cues from Eichel and the national kitty. It goes without saying that she favours workers, because she is a member of the SPD. And "social justice” is and always will be a “core competence” of the SPD – says its new chairman, Franz Müntefering.
Roland Berger already advised Birgit Breuel to draw up a funding concept for the Expo, for which Schröder held the inaugural speech.
( http://www.jf-archiv.de/archiv00/460yy27.htm).
This will be kept in the “Social Ministry I”. The following concepts are conceivable: Contributions from the unemployment insurance are to flow into new Transrapid routes of the German Railways or into building tourism in Afghanistan. The income generated will benefit the German jobless. Another initiative is the construction of an artificial island with marina in the North Sea with funds from the aged nursing insurance; the tie-up fees paid by ships will flow back to those needing care. If here, analogue to the Berlin Model or the Expo, the state banks give payment guarantees, there is no risk to pensioners, jobless and those needing care because the money will be paid no matter what. And last but not least: With Breuel and Fugmann-Hesing still more women’s quotas in leadership positions? A women-friendly government initiative.

Stolpe becomes "Innovation Minister" responsible for the elite universities

With the “toll collect” system and the “Brandenburg chip factory” Transport Minister, Manfred Stolpe, has qualified himself as undisputed leader of the government’s "innovation offensive" ( http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/24792). Chancellor Schröder gave a trend-setting assessment when he said, “We’re on the right way. Germany has to get the (toll collect) system going. Germany owes that to its reputation as an innovative industrial country. I’m assuming this debate is now over.” ( http://www.heute.t-online.de/ZDFheute/artikel/25/0,1367,WIRT-0-2099641,00.html). I liked Schröder’s first and last sentences most here: “We’re on the right way” and “I’m assuming this debate is now over.” The man is right. Toll-Collect and Brandenburg chip factory are only the start of the SPD innovation offensive. The very words “innovation offensive” indicate that the government intends to thrill us with a huge number of further successful high-tech projects like these. And where would that take us with the Red/Green innovation offensive if the eternal grumblers and doubters were to keep calling into question such good innovative projects as toll-collect or Brandenburg chip factory? After all, Schröder has just said toll collect is “in good hands” with Stolpe ( http://www.produktion.de/produktion/news/15791/index.php). So we should look up to Schröder and Stolpe and also give projects a chance that happen not to be quite as successful. After all, things can’t always go as well as they’re going with toll-collect.

To minimise the risk of failures – in contrast to toll-collect which, according to Schröder, is in good hands – the future elites to head such projects have to be chosen in the right manner. That is why it is consistent for Stolpe to additionally take over the research and education portfolio. That makes him responsible for setting up the elite universities. The head of the federal reserve bank, the Bundesbank, recently made a good suggestion on how to fund them: sell off the gold reserves and put the returns into a foundation that funds the elite universities.

Hans Eichel and Peter Struck stay

That brings us to the end of the cabinet reshuffle. Finance Minister Hans Eichel has been able to cultivate an image as budget fixer, accumulating the highest new debt. The difference between claim and reality was even greater than with Helmut Kohl’s “flowering landscapes” in post-reunification eastern Germany. A man like that just has to stay. And with his statement that “Germany is defended at the Hindu Kush” Defence Minister Peter Struck made enough points to keep his job.


Hartmut Mehdorn becomes transport minister


Railway chief, Hartmut Mehdorn, appointed to the job because of his SPD party membership book, has closed down the church missions in railway stations. That earns him 10 points with Schröder. But he earned 100 points for an achievement few know about: spending 38.8 million DM on consultants in the privatisation of railway workers’ housing companies ( http://www.mbi-mh.de/MBI-Programm/jenseits_des_Kirchturms/Clement_Superstar_/Clement_presse0009.html#293, see the section Regierung zahlte 170 Millionen Euro für Berater).
And these 110 plus points catapult him into cabinet, because Mehdorn, like his forerunner Ludwig, was hired as "crisis manager" with extra salary. He can be fairly described as a member of Germany’s elite. Manager Mehdorn embodies the future, he is already the flesh and blood incarnation of the German elite called for by the SPD. As transport minister he is also to be the model for others so that Germany moves forward again.

And the rest…

Everything else will stay the way it is. Entrepreneurial consultants can be commissioned by state governments to spend tax money on getting SPD premiers on to Sabine Christiansen’s TV talk show ( http://focus.msn.de/G/GP/GPA/gpa.htm?snr=129442). The fact that such covert party funding is illegal is kept under wraps by the public broadcasters party to the deal. So, go on as always? At least until the next election, the end with or without cabinet reshuffle.