Germany’s ‘most popular politician’ is given the sack

GERMANY’S acting foreign minister will not be a member of Angela Merkel’s new coalition government after he was fired by his own party.

Sigmar Gabriel, from Mrs Merkel’s coalition partners the Social Democrats (SPD), had been expected to lose his post after tense relations with Andrea Nahles, his party’s new leader.

Mr Gabriel, who was last year voted Germany’s most popular politician, posted on Twitter yesterday that Ms Nahles and Olaf Scholz, the SPD’S acting chairman, told him he would no longer have a ministerial post.

His successor, to be announced today, is expected to be Heiko Maas, 51, who served as justice minister in the last grand coalition. Katarina Barley, 49, the family minister, and Thomas Oppermann, 63, who is vice-president of the Bundestag, are also said to be in the running.

In February, Mr Gabriel complained about internal party politics. “The only thing left, really, is remorse over how disrespectful we’ve become with one another in our dealings and how little someone’s word still counts,” he said pointedly.

But yesterday he struck a more gracious tone. In his tweet, he said it had been a “big honour for which I am deeply grateful” to serve his party and his country.

Mr Gabriel has been vice-chancellor of Germany since 2013. His political career spanned three decades, during which he served from 2009 to 2017 as SPD leader, before becoming foreign minister.

Last month, when tensions between Mr Gabriel and other party leaders peaked, he told German media that his young daughter Marie had told him: “Don’t be sad, Papa – you will have more time for us now”.