She would not have lived a life as a political pensioner. Therefore Dr. Sigrid Meierhofer resumes an activity that she is familiar with. For Garmisch-Partenkirchen's ex-mayor, it's almost back to her roots.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Politicians are mostly soft, regardless of whether they voluntarily left office or were voted out. This applies to politicians of all stripes. Would you like some examples? Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) ended up on the supervisory board of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, the former Chancellery Minister Ronald Pofalla (CSU) was a member of the board of Deutsche Bahn. The former SPD federal chairman Andreas Nahles recently made headlines because she was given the office of president of the Federal Office of Post and Telecommunications.
What often calls outrageous, unfavorable, and self-righteous on the map is also common at the local level. Ex-mayors who still feel too young to be retirees are looking for new or old fields of activity. Thomas Schmid (then CSB), who lost the run-off election in 2014 and therefore had to vacate his post as Garmisch-Partenkirchner mayor, rose three months later to become the general manager of the Bavarian Construction Industry Association, which is based in Munich. Back then, a headhunter came across Schmid - on the road as a diplomat for many years. Since then, Schmid, who relocated to the state capital, has rarely visited Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Read also: In the event of a defeat in the runoff election: Meierhofer waives his mandate as a councilor
It starts on September 1st
Neither needed a headhunter Sigrid Meierhofer, in order to find a job, is still moving away from Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Schmid's successor, who headed the town hall and the fortunes of the market for the SPD for six years, is declining. Not to her roots as a doctor. Meierhofer, who lost to her challenger Elisabeth Koch (CSU) in the run-off election in March, will resume teaching at the vocational schools for nursing and children's nursing in September, where she had taught for many years. "I'm very happy," says Meierhofer (64), who signed her employment contract at the end of last week. "Before the public learns, everything should be under one roof," she explains in an interview with Tagblatt. As of September 1, she will take over half of a colleague's job who has extended her parental leave and is therefore part of the team headed by headmaster Thomas Abold.
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The ex-mayor had already indicated in the weeks after her forced departure that she intended to return to work and needed her license to do so. She would not have filled life as a political pensioner. At first, during the heyday of the corona pandemic, she had flirted with working as a doctor again to relieve her colleagues in the hospitals. "That was done when it became clear that the crisis had peaked."
A lot of sport since deselection
The teacher Meierhofer will have to learn a bit herself before she has her first day at school. So far, the vocational schools, which are located on Gehfeldstraße, have only trained nurses and pediatric nurses. So far, the sponsors were the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Clinic and the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Children's Clinic. The Caritas Association of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising has also been part of this since this year. The reason is the generalist education that the legislature has decided to make the nursing profession more attractive. In addition to pediatric nursing and nursing, geriatric nursing comes under the roof of the school. "The curriculum is currently being rewritten," says Meierhofer.
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She feels fit. The four weeks, on April 30, ended her term, she used to recover. "I did a lot more sport than in previous years." That was good for her. Nor has she renounced politics, which has been passionate about the past 20 years. "I still have a lot of fun with it." Meierhofer will continue to be a member of the SPD parliamentary group of the district council for the next six years and will also sit on the board of directors of the Kreissparkasse. "I'm not getting bored."