German health minister talks bioterrorism in White House
October 2, 2018
On his first visit to the US, Health Minister Jens Spahn spent half an hour with National Security Advisor John Bolton. The surprise visit was an opportunity for talks on biological weapons and epidemics.
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An unplanned visit to the White House on Monday provided an opportunity for German Health Minister Jens Spahn to discuss biological weapons, terrorism and epidemics with John Bolton, the National Security Advisor.
"We were in agreement that we have to do more work in these areas so that we can react quicker in crisis situations," Spahn said afterwards.
"Bioterrorism is the poor man's atomic bomb," he said. "With only a little work, you can do something terrible. That's why we have to work closely with our American colleagues in this arena." He added that Germany could learn from the US on bioterrorism.
Spahn has excellent contacts in the US and is very friendly with Washington's ambassador in Berlin, Richard Grenell.
"We have a difference of opinion on some topics," Spahn said. "But transatlantic relations are larger than the question of what is being tweeted," he said in reference to US President Donald Trump.
The occasional critic of Chancellor Angela Merkel is making a two-day visit to the US, his first international trip as health minister outside of Europe.
Angela Merkel's potential successors as chancellor
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Jensen
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, CDU
Kramp-Karrenbauer, also known as AKK, was Merkel's choice to become general secretary of the CDU in 2018. She is reputedly Merkel's pick as a successor as party leader. AKK headed a CDU-SPD coalition as state premier in the small southwestern state of Saarland before becoming the CDU's general secretary. She is considered a moderate who would continue Merkel's centrist policies.
Image: Reuters/H. Hanschke
Jens Spahn, CDU
The 38-year-old is the youngest and most overtly determined Merkel usurper. He entered the Bundestag in 2002 and became Germany's health minister in 2018. Spahn, who is openly gay, is popular in the CDU's conservative wing. He opposes limited dual citizenship for young foreigners, criticized attempts to loosen laws on advertising abortions and called for banning the Burqa in public.
Image: Reuters/K. Pfaffenbach
Friedrich Merz, CDU
The former leader of the CDU/CSU grouping in the Bundestag has been out of frontline politics since leaving the Bundestag in 2009. But the 62-year-old announced his intention to replace Merkel within hours of the news that she would be stepping down. Merz reportedly fell out with Merkel after she replaced him as CDU/CSU group leader in 2002. He has been a chairman at Blackrock since 2016.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. von Jutrczenka
Armin Laschet, CDU
Laschet became state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2017. His win marked a major defeat for Social Democrats in Germany's 18 million-strong "coal" state. He has ruled out running as CDU head while Merkel remains chancellor. But he has hinted that he may announce his candidacy once Merkel has stood down, which would make it possible to occupy both posts simultaneously.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Julia Klöckner, CDU
Klöckner became agriculture minister in 2018 and has been CDU chief in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate since 2011. In 1995, before entering politics, she became Germany's "Wine Queen." Like Spahn, she belongs to the CDU's conservative wing. She raised eyebrows in 2016 when she proposed an alternative plan to Merkel's refugee policy.
Image: Reuters/K. Pfaffenbach
Peter Altmaier, CDU
Altmeier, known as "Merkel's bodyguard," has supported the chancellor's centrist policy platform on multiple fronts. Originally from Saarland, Altmaier first worked for the European Union before entering the Bundestag in 1994. The former environment minister turned economy minister is renowned for his kitchen diplomacy and being a stickler for policy detail.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert
Ursula von der Leyen, CDU
Von der Leyen became defense minister in 2013 after serving a stint as labor minister. Despite her reform efforts, defense spending remains stubbornly low and the military continues to suffer from widespread equipment shortages. Von der Leyen, who studied in the United States and Britain, supports a larger role for Germany abroad and improving links between national armies in the European Union.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images/M. Kappeler
Volker Bouffier, CDU
Volker Bouffier has been the premier of the central state of Hesse since 2010. He formerly served as the state's interior minister and has twice "won" Big Brother awards from German data privacy advocates for propagating closer surveillance methods by police. The 66-year-old currently heads a CDU-Greens state government in Hesse and is a deputy chairperson in the national CDU executive.
