Portrait of the Prime Minister of Saarland: Who is Tobias Hans?

Created: 03/26/2022, 20:11

By: Bettina Menzel

Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) during a speech in the plenary hall of the Bundesrat on March 11, 2022. Speaking is considered one of his greatest talents.

© Political Moments / Imago

"Hans im Glück" was the headline in many newspapers when Tobias Hans became Prime Minister of the Saarland in March 2018.

He can look back on a long career in the CDU - but not without controversy.

Saarbrücken – On March 27, Saarland will elect a new state parliament (all information in the news ticker).

Before the election, the polls do not bode well for the current Prime Minister Tobias Hans - the CDU is falling more and more in the polls.

The signs point to a change of power in the smallest federal state in Germany in terms of area, the social democrat Anke Rehlinger could take over Hans' post.

His political career began with a steep ascent.

A portrait of Tobias Hans: That was the career of the CDU politician

At the age of 14, Hans joined the Junge Union in 1992, followed two years later by the CDU.

The political direction was passed on to the next generation in the Hans family.

Because Tobias' father - Peter Hans - was once a well-known CDU politician who headed the parliamentary group until his death in 2007.

In 1997 Tobias Hans took on his first managerial roles, first as chairman of the Junge Union of the Münchwies local branch, later as district chairman of the CDU Neunkirchen, as parliamentary director of the CDU parliamentary group and chairman of the committee for health and consumer protection.

He also worked as press spokesman for the Münchwies local branch, and speaking is considered one of his great talents.

After the Union's election debacle in the 2021 federal election, Tobias Hans was even briefly discussed as Laschet's successor as party chairman.

Within the party, he was believed to be capable of realigning the party.

His greatest career success so far has been his election as Prime Minister of the Saarland.

However, his steep rise as prime minister was also due to the fact that the then head of state, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, went to Berlin as general secretary, and Hans followed.

At that time there was talk of a trust bonus for his party - due to current controversies he could have gambled away this now.

The Prime Minister of Saarland, Tobias Hans (CDU), in a portrait in the Bundesrat building during the 1017th session of the Bundesrat in Berlin on March 11, 2022. © Political-Moments / Imago

Tobias Hans: Controversy over statements about low earners

Tobias Hans is actually considered a media professional.

He is represented on all major social media platforms and cleverly curates his image there.

But recently the politician, who is in the middle of an election campaign, made a fatal mistake.

A video he filmed in selfie mode in front of a gas station was not well received by many.

In the video on Twitter, the CDU politician got upset about the high fuel prices, which he described as "crazy".

According to Hans, the state is enriching itself.

But the sentence that was subsequently quoted a thousand times was: "This does not only affect low earners.

That really affects the many hard-working people who have to refuel.” Numerous commentators - including the comedian Jan Böhmermann - saw this as a contempt for low earners.

There was already a controversy about Hans during the 2018 election campaign, back then about his CV.

He had communicated the termination of his studies in business informatics, information science and English.

On his own homepage, however, he initially withheld this information.

In addition, he initially stated that he had worked as a "research assistant" at the psychosomatic specialist clinic.

The clinic itself confirmed that he held the position of "student research assistant" - a small but subtle difference.

If the current Prime Minister of Saarland loses his post to SPD politician Anke Rehlinger after the state elections on March 27, he will not be able to fall back on vocational training.

But he probably wouldn't be unemployed.

Because together with his wife Tanja, with whom he has three children, he runs a horse farm in Neunkirchen-Münchwies.

"In my limited free time, running and reading offer me balance - and of course our horses, which I take care of as a family tradition," writes Hans on his website.

The CDU politician could soon have at least a little more time for this.