German State Replaces Premier Laschet With Former Transport Minister

German State Replaces Premier Laschet With Former Transport Minister

The parliament of the most populous German state of North Rhine-Westphalia voted for former transport minister Hendrik Wust to succeed Armin Laschet as premier on Wednesday

BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th October, 2021) The parliament of the most populous German state of North Rhine-Westphalia voted for former transport minister Hendrik Wust to succeed Armin Laschet as premier on Wednesday.

The 46-year-old was elected in a 103-90 vote, with three abstentions and one invalid vote, according to the legislature's statement. The extraordinary sitting came two days after Laschet announced he was standing down to pursue a career in Federal politics.

"We have big challenges ahead of us: recovery from the pandemic, post-flood reconstruction, economic growth and innovation, digitization, rising prices, education opportunities and affordable housing, and, of course, preservation of our progress in protecting climate as the main challenge of our time," Wust said.

Wust took over from Laschet as leader of the local branch of the Christian Democratic Union at the party conference in Bielefeld last week. Laschet presided over the party during its worst defeat by Social Democrats in September's federal elections.