Herbert B. Schmidt (left) and the then Federal Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel in the ministry in September 2015, between them the bust of Ludwig Erhard that has now been removed. It was set up in 2007. A Karl Schiller bust was added in 2015.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
16 years ago, a bust of Ludwig Erhard was placed in the entrance area of the Federal Ministry of Economics as a sign of his admiration and for motivation. The lender has now had them removed – in protest.
So far, it has been part of the fixed canon of the Federal Minister of Economics, regardless of which party, to refer at least rhetorically and partially to Ludwig Erhard, the first Minister of Economic Affairs in the Federal Republic and advocate of the social market economy. Sixteen years ago it became a small memorial in the form of a bust in the foyer of the Ministry. Michael Glos, then Minister, chose Erhard’s 110th birthday to unveil a bronze sculpture that had been created in 1972 by the Aachen sculptor Wolfgang Ritz with Erhard’s participation. The bust should be “a sign of recognition, memory and motivation,” said the CSU politician at the ceremony.
The bust is gone now. The contract for the loan expired. The lender was Herbert B. Schmidt, who still knew Erhard and worked with him. Schmidt was a co-founder of the CDU Economic Council and made a name for himself primarily through privatization in Estonia after the collapse of Soviet rule.