The German Government gets also more female. The idiot Jung is now out as Labour Minister and was replaced with Ursula von der Leyen, who was Minister for Families. The new Minister for Families is now Kristina Köhler, Bundestag-member from Hessen:
BERLIN - Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday announced a reshuffle of her cabinet, which has been in power just four weeks, naming Ursula von der Leyen to become Germany's new labor minister.
Von der Leyen, who was family minister, will be succeeded by Kristina Koehler, a lawmaker in the lower house of parliament for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union.
The move comes after German labor minister Franz Josef Jung Friday resigned following revelations about his handling of information about an air strike in Afghanistan in which an estimated 30 to 40 civilians were killed.
Merkel said Jung has been a "fine person" and that she has always worked well with him.
The labor portfolio is a crucial post in the government and oversees half of the government's budget. The new minister faces big challenges linked to the expected rise in unemployment caused by the economic crisis.
The post has been filled with von der Leyen, a 49-year-old mother of seven who is one of the Christian Democratic Union's most popular politicians.
The new family minister, a 32-year-old sociologist, comes from the important state of Hesse, home to one of Merkel's main rivals, Roland Koch.
The resignation of Jung, a close ally to Koch, is an embarrassment for Merkel's center-right coalition government, which took office last month.
He had been a fairly lackluster defense minister and his appointment as labor minister in the new government had come as surprise.
The post was expected to be filled by a member of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party, and not from the Free Democratic Party coalition partner.
The new ministers will be formally appointed Monday by the president.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091127-706794.html
