Ronald Rauhe can now prove for himself whether he fully fulfills this job profile. On Thursday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz presented the 44-year-old as the new State Minister for Sport and Volunteering, in front of racing bikes, toboggans and a canoe that they had draped on the steps of the Chancellery. Christiane Schenderlein, Rauhe's predecessor, recently transferred Merz to the Ministry of Health after only 14 months in office. Merz openly admitted on Thursday that the Chancellor wanted someone who was well-known in the sports world as his successor. Merz said he hoped for “active support from Roland Rauhe” in the German bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Rauhe immediately promised such cooperation, described the Olympic campaign as a “drawhorse for the Olympic generation” and vowed to organize the notoriously complicated promotion of elite sports in such a way that “talent becomes gold again”. The question that will be more exciting will be how sure-footed he is on the political stage, especially since his new position also affects the huge area of voluntary work outside of sport, which the SPD parliamentary group promptly reminded. In any case, he is a personality that the DOSB, as the umbrella organization of organized sport, could hardly have crafted better - even if he grumbled badly until the end.
Not all representatives in the sporting world were nearly as satisfied with the former Minister of State as some recent hymns of praise would have suggested. But the cultural politician Schenderlein pushed through the central projects of the coalition agreement within just over a year, in particular the sports funding law, which is intended to stop the downturn in various medal counts. And the quick replacement that Merz had promised before the summer break took a long time. In particular, Nadine Keßler, director of women's football at the continental association Uefa and, according to SZ information, a preferred candidate, changed her mind. Meanwhile, September 26th is approaching, when the DOSB wants to choose the German applicant for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Summer Games. And what a highly embarrassing signal would it have sent if the government's most important sports position had been vacant?
Rauhe undoubtedly knows his way around the sports system – he has criticized many politicians for having “half-knowledge”
A jump into the cold water awaits Rauhe, even if, as a former canoeist, that shouldn't scare him. On the other hand, he hardly has to delve deeper into many topics, not least because he supported Berlin's Olympic bid until the end; As a “keynote speaker” and book author, he reflected on how sport could be better anchored in society again. He has also been a member of the Athletes Commission of the European Olympic Committee (EOC) since 2023, and two years ago he joined the “Leadership Program” supported by the DOSB and the Ministry of the Interior, which, according to the DOSB, “prepares German leaders to help shape the world of sports.” A year and a half ago, the DOSB described the path Rauhe was on on its homepage as follows: “At the side of German sport.”
It was hardly surprising that DOSB President Thomas Weikert said on Thursday: "To know at the cabinet table is an Olympic champion who has combined world-class performances as a sports soldier in canoe racing for decades with commitment to the club and the representation of athletes, gives a boost to sport and voluntary work in our country." German sport is receiving “a credible and likeable ambassador at the highest level,” said Max Hartung, spokesman for the board of the German Sport Aid Foundation. And Pia Greiten, the President of “Athletes Germany”, said: “Ronny has gotten to know the top sports system from many perspectives and knows about the special needs of the athletes.”
