When Karl Lauterbach was presented by Olaf Scholz as the designated Minister of Health in December, that seemed only logical to many.

Lauterbach was one of the most popular politicians;

a doctor and epidemiologist who felt like he had read every corona study and made a name for himself across party lines.

Many saw the whimsical Lauterbach as a beacon of hope that should finally ensure a clear course in pandemic policy.

In the SPD, however, many rolled their eyes even then – right up to Scholz, who bowed to the pressure of the street late in the nomination.

Because Lauterbach had an idea of ​​the subject, but also had the reputation of being an idiosyncratic lone fighter.

Lauterbach can talk show, it was said at the time, he is the king of "Markus Lanz".

But can he also minister?

A communication disaster

After this week, in which Lauterbach failed catastrophically twice, this question should have been finally decided for many.

First, the minister announced that isolation in the event of a corona infection would no longer be mandatory from May 1st, but only voluntary.

A day and many waves of indignation later, he received the attack from "Markus Lanz" of all places and then sent an apology tweet in the middle of the night: He had "made a mistake", the signal was "wrong and harmful". .

But there was the communication disaster of a minister who actually wanted to do everything better than his predecessor Jens Spahn, long ago in the world.

The fact that Lauterbach arbitrarily reversed the decision that he had previously made together with the health ministers of the federal states testifies to "irritating fickleness", etched Bremen's head of government and Lauterbach's party colleague Andreas Bovenschulte.

It was not the first communicative faux pas that the Minister of Health made.

The relationship of trust between the states and Lauterbach has already arrived where it was later under Spahn: at the bottom.

The failure of mandatory vaccinations in the Bundestag is also a major defeat for Lauterbach (and Chancellor Scholz), who were unable to organize a majority;

neither in the coalition nor beyond.

And Lauterbach's isolation obligation debacle in particular should have been grist to the mills of those who consider the virus to be defeated.

Olaf Scholz, who once promised general vaccination, reacts to such defeats as always: he is silent.

Lauterbach, on the other hand, gets caught up in contradictions under pressure, rowing back and forth.

It doesn't look crisis-proof and steadfast.

Most tragic figure in the cabinet

In a way, Lauterbach is the most tragic figure in the cabinet because he is the consensus buffer of a coalition that has never spoken with one voice on pandemic policy.

He advocated compulsory vaccination, but refrained from making his own application because as a minister he wanted to be neutral (and not disavow the FDP).

He was always for the mask requirement, but had to announce its end.

As a minister, he has to stand for decisions that he used to be able to condemn from the sidelines at Lanz.

Sometimes you can see how much it hurts him.

The only problem is that credibly mastering this balancing act between conviction and realpolitik is part of the job description.

It's not a dream job.

Maybe Lauterbach is now beginning to realize that too.