Hendrik Wüst: He met his wife in a pub

City councilor at 19, general secretary of the CDU at 31 and prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia at 46: Hendrik Wüst’s CV reads like a party-political picture book career. As head of government in October, he followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Armin Laschet, who moved into the Bundestag as a simple member of parliament after his failed candidacy for chancellor. At 46, Wüst is one of the youngest prime ministers in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Hendrik Wüst was the youngest CDU MP in North Rhine-Westphalia

Wüst was born in the small Westphalian town of Rhede, where he also took his first steps in politics. At the age of 15 he joined the Junge Union, later he took over its state presidency. After graduating from high school, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 2003. In 2005, Wüst moved into the Düsseldorf state parliament as the youngest CDU deputy at the time. Only a year later he was promoted to General Secretary. He was appointed to the black and yellow cabinet under Laschet in 2017 as Minister of Transport.

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In the North Rhine-Westphalian parliament, he gained a reputation as a natural fighter because of regular verbal exchanges. Since his election as prime minister, however, he has been calm and considered. In his speeches he seems to be holding himself back and inserting statesmanlike pauses where he might have been louder in the past.

NRW election: Soft tones from Hendrik Wüst

He also politely waits his turn in the “election arena” on Westdeutscher Rundfunk, the television pentathlon of the top candidates. While his SPD challenger Thomas Kutschaty (53) gesticulates wildly, Wüst stands almost motionless at the desk. When he grimaces once, he’s asked if he’s upset, to which he replies, “I’m very happy and cheerful.” Even in the direct TV duel with Kuchaty just three days before the election, he tends to be quiet.

He seems to be able to switch the role of the prudent father of the country on and off these days as if on command. This effect can be observed, for example, on an election campaign tour in his Westphalian homeland. Like a solo entertainer, he paces back and forth in front of packed rows in the hall of an agricultural operation. He jokes about journalists who have traveled from Berlin and don’t know in which direction Rhede is located from Hamminkeln.

When he mentions his age in a subordinate clause, an older woman from the audience calls out that he has “behaved well”. Wüst takes up the compliment and gets one of the many laughs that day. For him, the appearance in Münsterland is a home game – regardless of whether he is speaking to elderly farmers in flat caps or supporters of the Junge Union in hooded sweaters.

At such election campaign dates in his homeland, he encounters little criticism. It is still unclear whether and to what extent the recent resignation of his cabinet and party colleague Ursula Heinen-Esser (56) harmed him. After severe criticism in connection with a controversial trip to Mallorca after the flood of the century, she resigned from her position as Minister for the Environment at the beginning of April.

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Wüst presents himself as approachable

Heinen-Esser returned to her vacation after the flood and apparently stayed longer on the holiday island than she later stated in the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the disaster. Two other CDU state ministers also paid her a visit to Mallorca.

Wüst counters negative headlines with skilful self-portrayal. He likes to present himself, especially in online networks, as a relaxed, approachable politician from next door. Sometimes he cycles around in a suit on a recumbent bike, sometimes you can see him in a T-shirt doing his homework, sometimes he reads a book in the baby carrier with his daughter, who was born last spring.

In a recent BUNTE interview, Wüst told how he met his wife Katharina. And in a pub near the Düsseldorf state parliament. “Katharina recognized me from an election poster that she obviously liked,” said the North Rhine-Westphalia head of government. The couple has been married since 2019. The then NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (61) and Health Minister Jens Spahn (41), both CDU, also appeared at the church wedding.

He was ahead in polls and won the election

In the polls for the state elections, Wüst’s CDU was two to four percentage points ahead of the SPD, after the CDU had been behind for a long time. And in the end he won the election. His CDU was by far the strongest force, so Wüst can probably remain head of government.

mta/ with AFP

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