German Family Affairs Minister Anne Spiegel (Greens) has resigned. The reason is her actions during the flood last year. Last night she had apologized after reporting in the press, but that was not enough to save her position.
The 41-year-old Spiegel went on a family holiday shortly after last summer the severe floods† Although she was the environment minister at the time in the hard-hit state of Rhineland-Palatinate, she thought she could get away for a few weeks.
Bild am Sontag revealed last weekend that Spiegel went on holiday ten days after the disaster. “While the people searched in the mud for the dead, she traveled to France,” the magazine wrote.
Spiegel hurriedly convened a press conference last night to provide explanations. Clearly devastated, she responded to the message with an apology.
Stroke and corona stress
She did want to create understanding for her decision by sharing some personal details. For example, she said that her husband suffered a stroke in 2019 and that he had to avoid tension. In addition, the corona lockdowns had taken a heavy toll on the couple’s four young children.
“We really needed a holiday as a family because my husband couldn’t take it anymore. It was difficult to find a balance between my responsibilities as a minister and those as a mother of four,” said Spiegel.
Watch Spiegel’s apology here:
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