Politico interview: Lauterbach not in the new health committee

The final steps toward forming a coalition government are imminent. Following the presentation of the SPD ministers, current Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is to be bid farewell with a grand finale today, and CDU party leader Friedrich Merz is to be elected Scholz's successor tomorrow.

One person who will be leaving his cabinet seat tomorrow is Karl Lauterbach (SPD). The outgoing health minister will remain committed to health policy, as he stated in the "Politico" podcast. He will retain his Bundestag mandate, which he won directly for the sixth consecutive time in his constituency of Leverkusen – Cologne IV in the February election.

He did not reveal whether he would hold any other positions. He did say only this much: Lauterbach said he would not be a member of the new Health Committee. It's unlikely, however, that we won't hear from him again; the spectrum of health policy is so broad that there's "always something to comment on and communicate," Lauterbach said in the "200-second interview." He does have some tips for his successor, Nina Warken, but he won't make them public.

Lauterbach would have liked to remain Minister of Health. He told Politico again this week. In an interview with Der Spiegel last week, he had already described the office of Federal Minister of Health as his "dream job." When asked what he would retain as Minister of Health, he cited hospital reform, the electronic patient record (EPA), and the Medical Research Act, which is intended to advance clinical research.

The composition of the working groups and committees has not yet been finalized. Only the Greens have already decided that their health spokesperson, Janosch Dahmen, will remain . The CDU/CSU and SPD plan to follow suit soon.