Karl Lauterbach has been everywhere for the last two years: in the morning TV shows, in the evening TV shows, in the newspapers, in the magazines. Most of all, though, it’s on Twitter. With more than 720,000 followers, the new health minister is tweeting non-stop, especially during the pandemic, more as a professor of epidemiology and less as a politician. His critics would even say that it was Twitter that finally anointed him Minister of Health.
“We will be able to bring the pandemic to an end in the coming months. We will continue the vaccinations until we reach the end “, said Mr. Lauterbach, taking over his duties from Jens Spann, noting that his views and policy will always be based on scientific data. Its popularity is a given, as is its penetration into other political arenas. After all, he started his political career in the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) – the Conrad Adenauer Foundation even covered the costs of his studies at Harvard – where he remained until 2001 and may not have many friends in the SPD, where is also known as “crazy-Carl”. Conversely, the new Minister of Health, professor of epidemiology and health economist, is a “red cloth” for those who deny vaccination and the pandemic. For example, while he was swearing in as a minister, they were protesting outside his house. Already at the beginning of the pandemic he had received a package with a vial bearing the inscription “drink it and you will have immunity”, while the abusive and threatening messages continue and he is obliged to circulate in personal safety. His internal party opponents estimate that his face will cause polarization at a time when communication is needed.
In his party it is considered that he has no bases. He was not even the head of the SPD Health Department. He won his role in the spotlight on his own, determined to explain the pandemic in detail on social media and in the media on a daily basis, believing that people need to know as much as possible about the coronavirus and its dangers. He became a minister in an unprecedented climate of popular pressure on his party, which probably intended to “honor” him by appointing him to a crisis management committee. Polls were published daily on the question “who should become Minister of Health?”, With the Social Democrat epidemiologist sweeping. Even the hashtag #we wantCarl was circulating in the previous days. “People wanted a man of the object,” Olaf Solz said, partly distancing himself from Karl Lauterbach’s choice and shifting responsibility to the people. “Santa Claus is coming and wishes are coming true. “If you wanted him, take him,” said SPD vice-president Kevin Kunert. It is no coincidence, then, that Mr Lauterbach then thanked his followers first.
A fan of the more careful approach, all this time he was constantly calling for restricting contacts and vaccination – lately he has been persistently calling for a lockdown and mandatory vaccination for everyone. It will therefore be interesting to see if – and how – the new government incorporates its views. The government is not Twitter and politicians often do not like scientific opinions. Balancing Karl Lauterbach will not be easy, especially when he encounters reactions from other government partners. The Liberals were clearly opposed to the strict restraining measures in the run-up to the elections, they had even appealed to the Constitutional Court asking that the restrictions of the first period of the pandemic be characterized as unconstitutional. After the elections, they seem to be adding water to their wine, but they remain hesitant on the issues of mandatory vaccination and lockdown enforcement, which will be the first things that will concern the new government.
The 58-year-old new minister clarified from the first moment that “successful health policy is based on evidence-based medicine”. After all, as he usually says, “science is the natural enemy of populism and we will defeat the pandemic only by relying on facts.” This pandemic is, after all, his fate, the great impetus to his career – the crucial point that can judge the course of his own and the new government as a whole. The wish of all should now be the people whose voice made the Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach prove to be wise even this time.
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