Anne Spiegel elected Head of Social Affairs: Controversial election in Hanover!

Anne Spiegel elected Head of Social Affairs: Controversial election in Hanover!

Anne Spiegel, former Federal Minister for Family Affairs and Environment Minister in Rhineland-Palatinate, has now positioned herself as the new head of social affairs for the Hanover region. On November 12, 2025, Alliance 90/The Greens' policy received 49 out of 77 votes in the regional assembly, while 23 MPs voted against it and five abstained. Regional President Krach from the SPD proposed her, which represents an exciting turn in her political career. But the path to this election was anything but straight.

Before her election, numerous citizens expressed concerns about Spiegel's suitability for the new office. The reason lies in their actions during the devastating flood disaster in the Ahr Valley in 2021, after which 135 people lost their lives and numerous livelihoods were ruined. At the time, Spiegel was responsible for crisis management as Environment Minister in Rhineland-Palatinate, but decided to travel to France on a family vacation lasting several weeks ten days after the disaster. Only later did she admit that this was a mistake and spoke of personal overload.

Protests and doubts about suitability

The election as head of the social affairs department was accompanied by public protests. At a demonstration, around 50 people commemorated the flood victims by setting up 135 crosses and grave lights. The accusation that was made to Spiegel? A politician who has failed in the crisis should not take on a position that requires care. This is a harsh accusation that the Greens must take firmly to heart.

Spiegel herself described her actions after the flood disaster as a “debacle” and apologized for the mistakes. During this critical time, she also instructed her spokesman to focus on ensuring timely warnings, which in retrospect was seen as unhelpful. Her resignation as Federal Family Minister in 2022 was the result of ongoing criticism of her administration during this crisis.

The coming term in the Hanover region

Despite these adversities, Spiegel plans to move to the Hanover region for her new position. Her term of office is eight years and she succeeds Andrea Hanke, who is retiring in May 2026. Before her election, she worked as Chief Operating Officer at the Berlin aid organization “Kriminchat”, where she dealt with dealing with crises and emergencies. Rhineland-Palatinate also plans to raise awareness of emergencies such as severe storms and power outages, showing that lessons must be learned from the past.

It remains exciting to see how Anne Spiegel will fare in the Hanover region. The pressure to measure up to the public's high expectations could be extremely challenging for them. Whether she can appease the critics and prove herself to be a capable head of social affairs will be seen in the coming months.

For more information on the details surrounding the election and the background, read the reporting from Deutschlandfunk as well as the analysis of ZDF.