German Politician Regrets Last-Minute Withdrawal from Transport Minister Post

German politician Fritz Güntzler (CDU) expressed regret over the difficulties caused by his abrupt withdrawal from the federal transport minister post. He admitted that asking for time to consider the offer would have been the correct approach, calling his actions a significant error. Güntzler acknowledged that his decision created problems for Chancellor Friedrich Merz and expressed his deep regret.

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I should have asked for time to consider. That was a big mistake.

The Bundestag member had initially accepted Merz's offer but rescinded it just hours before the planned announcement. This led to only a partial cabinet reshuffle being revealed and criticism within the CDU regarding the handling of the previous incumbent, Patrick Schnieder, whose situation became a prolonged uncertainty.

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Of course, I put the Chancellor in difficulty with my actions, and I regret that very much.

Güntzler explained that the situation overwhelmed him, stating he did not function correctly at that moment. He felt this performance did not meet his own standards. As a politician focused on financial matters, he ultimately deemed himself unfit for the transport minister role due to his complete lack of experience in the field. He felt it would be unacceptable to rely solely on ministry staff for information for six months without personal understanding of the issues.

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The situation simply overwhelmed me. I didn't function properly at that moment.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has since nominated Steffen Bilger, the First Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, for the position of Federal Minister of Transport. Bilger's appointment is scheduled for the upcoming Wednesday. Bilger previously served as State Secretary in the Transport Ministry from 2018 to 2021. As part of the cabinet changes, Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) will move to the Chancellery, succeeding Thorsten Frei (CDU), who will become the head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group following Jens Spahn's (CDU) resignation. Carsten Linnemann, the current CDU Secretary-General, will take over Warken's position.

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I have never had anything to do with transport policy. And it would not be justifiable for me to just read out for six months what ministry employees write down for me, because I have no idea about the topics myself.