from our reporter
Berlin – 4 months ago Ann Spiegel Join the government Olaf Schulze , as an exemplary woman and Amal Al-Khidr. Forty, Modern, Four Young Children, was the perfect embodiment of how to reconcile work and family. But it was a short story.

Spiegel announced his resignation from the Federal Family Ministry on Monday. The first political crisis of the traffic light alliance between the Social Democrats, Liberals and Grenen, which has led Germany since last December.

Spiegel was forced to leave due to serious errors in her previous position, when she was Minister of the Environment of North Rhine-Westphalia.

As it was recently revealed, it caused the catastrophic summer floods of 2021 135 people were killed in the Rhine regionIndeed, Spiegel underestimated flood risk before and proved blatantly inadequate in managing the crisis thereafter, unable to coordinate relief efforts and effectively losing control of the situation. There are even doubts about the venue for the theatrical night.

Moreover, some short messages from his spokesmen in the hours of tragedy show that Spiegel seemed concerned above all about his image.

The straw that overtook her was a revelation Bild am SonntagA few days after the disaster, while the victims were still counting and people were digging among the ruins of the house, The Minister took a four-week vacation in France with her familyWe stopped for half a day just to visit one of the villages affected by the disaster.

But what led to his downfall, and the doubling of external and internal pressure on his party to resign, was most likely His statement on Sunday eveningwhen Spiegel called a press conference in a last-ditch effort to save himself.

With very emotional undertones and a wealth of personal details the Minister She tried to explain why you decided to go on vacation after allreveal it Her husband had a heart attack in 2019 He could no longer devote his full time to his children, and the pandemic had stressed the children, in short, the family desperately needed a break to meet and relax. And even here it can be.

But amid a barrage of questions, the minister added that she had fulfilled her political and institutional duties anyway, Video participation in all cabinet sessions from the provincial government, Which turns out simple verification is not correct. It is not clear whether it was a conscious lie or the result of the emotional state of the minister, who often lost a thread during meetings with journalists, sought the help of her collaborators and gave the impression of not realizing something. Filmed on television. It is painful to see someone in such circumstances, regardless of any political considerations, but in a federal ministry such confusion cannot prevail, he commented. Sueddeutsche Zeitungunder which resignation was necessary.

The passing of Anne Spiegel, a woman For years, I fought for the rights of children and familiesGermany relaunch the debate on Tangible potential to reconcile work and family in general And in particular, about the presence of women with children at the highest levels of politics.
In this specific case, with all possible justifications, Spiegel proved the inadequacy of the concession challenge. But as columnist Florian Harms writes, if we want every citizen of the Republic to be able to assume public responsibility, as well as demand personal competence and integrity, We must also be more tolerant of weaknesses or mistakes. This means, with all the necessary criticism, they are also a political leader A mother of four, with a sick husband at home, has overcome the epidemic.