Lewentz resigns, opposition: step was overdue

Created: 2022-10-12Updated: 2022-10-12, 3:20 p.m

State chairman of the CDU and parliamentary group chairman of his party in Lantag, Rhineland-Palatinate, Christian Baldauf speaks during an interview.

© Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa/archive image

Police videos from the night of the flood disaster that surfaced late proved fatal for the interior minister.

He resigns from his position.

Much too late, criticizes the opposition.

Prime Minister Dreyer wants to announce who will follow Lewentz in a few days.

Mainz - The political and public pressure was too strong - Interior Minister Roger Lewentz announced his resignation on Wednesday.

"Today I take political responsibility for mistakes made in my area of ​​responsibility," said the SPD politician on Wednesday, referring to police documents that appeared late on the night of the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley.

Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) wants to make a decision on his successor in a few days.

The opposition parties CDU and AfD criticized the resignation as overdue, the traffic light parties and free voters paid their respects to the long-standing minister.

In his declaration of resignation, Lewentz first addressed the people of the Ahr valley calmly and uprightly.

"The impressions from that time will stay with me for the rest of my life." From the morning after the night of the disaster, he was there almost every day.

It hurts him when he is now portrayed as callous and heartless in the most recent discussion.

"The fact that as a minister I no longer get through in public, that my arguments are no longer taken up, that's not good for a minister."

The videos, which have now become known belatedly, and the deployment report of the police helicopter squadron were not presented to him in the night of July 14th to 15th, 2021, said Lewentz.

"The helicopter squadron's report was not forwarded to me, that was a mistake in my area of ​​responsibility." But he doesn't blame anyone.

According to the police, the video recordings, which were accidentally forgotten, show people in dire need in the flood.

The outgoing minister expressed regret that the documents had been received late by the state parliament's investigative committee.

"In the course of coping, mistakes were certainly made in many places - mistakes, but no cover-ups." Lewentz had explained to the committee of inquiry that he had not had a complete picture of the situation on the night of the flood.

The CDU and Free Voters wanted to make Lewentz's role in the flood night an issue in the state parliament on Wednesday afternoon, the AfD had spoken out in favor of a vote of no confidence.

Because of the resignation, the item was then removed from the agenda at short notice at the request of the CDU and FW.

Prime Minister Dreyer wants to announce Lewentz's successor soon.

"He will remain in office for a few more days," she said, adding: "You can assume that I will make public who follows Roger Lewentz in the next few days."

The head of government seemed depressed.

"There are seldom people in politics who can be trusted as extensively as I was able to trust Roger Lewentz." There are few who have put themselves as much at the service of the country as the minister.

“We have been through many ups and downs together.” His departure from the cabinet has torn a large gap both personally and professionally.

Dreyer acknowledged the expansion of the police force during Lewentz' eleven-year tenure.

"The number of crimes has never been as low as it is today."

When asked about his chairmanship of the SPD Rhineland-Palatinate, the 59-year-old Lewentz said he was elected until the next party conference in 2023. He added: "I'm taking a break now and will then discuss it with the committees."

also read

Police murders near Kusel: hunters describe the main suspect as an outstanding shooter

After a fatal accident in an amusement park: an eyewitness raises serious allegations against the operator

The CDU party and parliamentary group leader Christian Baldauf criticized the fact that Lewentz did not apologize for personal mistakes and misjudgments in his resignation speech.

The political processing of the flood disaster in the investigative committee of the state parliament will be intensified.

It is now a matter of clarifying where the responsibility of Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) lies.

The CDU reserves the right to invite Dreyer before the committee of inquiry again.

The AfD explained that the damage that Lewentz had done to the reputation of the state and democracy by resigning much too late was immense.

"It remains the image of a professional politician stuck to his post, who was covered up to the end by his party and government colleagues."

The three traffic light parties and the opposition Free Voters (FW) paid tribute to Lewentz's many years of work in various positions in state politics and paid tribute to him for his resignation.

This will "leave a gap," said SPD parliamentary group leader Sabine Bätzing-Lichtenthäler.

Lewentz had been "a guarantor of security and stability" and a "sympathetic minister" in recent years.

With his resignation, he assumed political responsibility for mistakes that did not happen to him, but in his area of ​​responsibility - "at moments of almost unimaginable stress".

Representatives of the Greens, FDP and FW made similar statements.

The Greens politician Anne Spiegel had already resigned as Federal Minister for Family Affairs in April.

She was Environment Minister in Rhineland-Palatinate at the time of the flood disaster and was therefore responsible for flood protection.

Around ten days later, she left for France on a four-week family vacation.

The Green politician justified this by saying that the vacation was necessary because of the great burden on her family.

dpa