Saxony’s Minister-President and CDU state chairman Michael Kretschmer has criticized the replacement of State Minister of Sports Christiane Schenderlein. “Christiane Schenderlein was an incredibly successful Minister of Sports,” Kretschmer told MDR. “In that regard, I didn’t understand this change at all. I would have rather said that Ms. Schenderlein deserves the award for the most successful cabinet member in the Merz administration. We all need to think this change through again first, and then perhaps we’ll understand it.”
On Monday, it was announced that Schenderlein is no longer State Minister for Sports in the Chancellor’s Office and will instead move to the Ministry of Health as Parliamentary State Secretary. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) announced this in Berlin. The fact that Schenderlein would not remain in the Chancellery had been known for several days and had led to massive discontent among the East German state associations. Her successor has not yet been determined.
On MDR, Kretschmer also criticized the other personnel changes in the federal government. “It’s been a difficult situation these past few days. I think many people stood by, watched the whole thing unfold, and shook their heads. Me, too.” Of course, he said, a head of government must be allowed to assemble the team with which he then wants to—and must—do the work. “Now there’s been a change. It certainly didn’t go as smoothly as one might expect. But now there’s clarity, and hopefully we can get back to work.”
