US embassy cable - 04FRANKFURT6002

UNCLAS FRANKFURT 006002 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ECON, PINR, TBIO, GM 
SUBJECT: Baden-Wuerttemberg Cabinet Shuffle Raises Eyebrows 
 
Reftel:  04 Frankfurt 5551 
 
Sensitive but unclassified: not for internet distribution. 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: Baden-Wuerttemberg (B-W) Minister President 
Erwin Teufel (Christian Democrat/CDU) has restructured the 
state cabinet following the retirement of Interior Minister 
Thomas Schaeuble (CDU) and State Minister of Economics 
Walter Doering's (FDP) resignation amid scandal.  Teufel 
took a chance on a major restructuring in order to bring 
more women and younger politicians into the cabinet. 
Lucrative public-sector jobs for retiring ministers and 
Teufel's unwillingness to declare his own future intentions 
have sparked criticism within the party.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) On July 8, Teufel announced the new CDU cabinet 
members.  Heribert Rech, currently Schaeuble's State 
Secretary (2001-present), will become Interior Minister. 
 
SIPDIS 
Current State Secretary Stefan Mappus will become minister 
for environment and transportation, replacing incumbent 
Ulrich Mueller.  Federal Parliament (Bundestag) delegate/CDU 
national executive board member Tanja Goenner will become 
minister for social affairs (replacing Friedhelm Repnick). 
Teufel also appointed three new state secretaries (all CDU): 
Friedlinde Gurr-Hirsch (Ministry of Agriculture), Dieter 
Hillebrand (Ministry of Environment and Transportation), and 
Wolfgang Reinhardt (Finance Ministry).  NOTE:  Following 
Economics Minister Doering's resignation in June, the FDP 
nominated state caucus chief Ernst Pfister as new economics 
minister (reftel). 
 
3. (U) Prior to the cabinet restructuring, Teufel had agreed 
to make Schaeuble CEO of the Rothaus Brewery (a highly 
profitable state-owned enterprise in the Black Forest region 
near Schaeuble's hometown).  Teufel offered Repnick the CEO 
position at the B-W state lottery (Lotto-Totto GmbH). 
Repnick, who initially resisted leaving government, agreed 
to accept Teufel's generous job offer.  The golden 
parachutes sparked protests from party circles including the 
B-W Young Conservatives (Junge Union) and the Association of 
Taxpayers.  CDU contacts privately expressed concern that 
these moves will expose the party to charges of cronyism. 
 
4. (U) With the appointment of Goenner and Mappus as 
ministers, Teufel increased the representation of women and 
rejuvenated his cabinet, since Goenner (34 years) and Mappus 
(38 years) are considerably younger than the average cabinet 
minister.  The reshuffle has fueled the smoldering 
successorship debate, as the B-W conservative women's 
association and the CDU labor wing called on Teufel, who 
turns 65 in September, to announce his retirement plans. 
Christian Baeumer (head of the CDU labor wing and close ally 
of CDU caucus chief/heir apparent Guenther Oettinger) 
demanded that Teufel put his cards on the table by October. 
 
5. (SBU) COMMENT:  Political observers in the region see the 
cabinet reshuffle as a sign that Teufel wants to continue 
beyond the 2006 state elections -- but if Teufel intended to 
gain some political buffer as a result of this reshuffle, he 
did not achieve his goal.  In fact, the nominations have 
created a mini-political inferno in the state.  The decision 
to award lucrative jobs in state-owned enterprises to 
departing officials caused an outcry at a time of high 
unemployment and constant cutbacks of social benefits.  Some 
CDU activists predict a backlash at election time.  Media 
and some party insiders are beginning to question whether 
Teufel is starting to lose his political instincts, 
suggesting thirteen years in power may have created a sense 
of omnipotence and a loss of grounding in reality.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
BODDE