Anne Spiegel, the German Minister for Family Affairs, stepped down yesterday following weeks of pressure to do so.
She is the first minister to resign from Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Cabinet.
Spiegel, who was the environment minister of Rhineland-Palatinate when major portions of the region were flooded last summer. killing nearly 200 individuals, took a vacation to France for four weeks with her family shortly after the accident.
She later claimed about attending Cabinet sessions from afar through the internet.
To complicate things, it was discovered earlier this year that Spiegel disregarded serious concerns about the intensity of coming floods, rather concentrating on ensuring a gender-neutral press statement.
Her status became even more precarious after she issued a statement Sunday evening that was largely regarded as perplexing owing to an unplanned remark that made her apology appear ingenuine.
Spiegel could be heard saying to herself near the end of her address, "now I've got to wrap things up somewhat," which many regarded as an indication that she's more concerned about public affairs than making amends for her faults.
The minister announced in a press release on Monday that political pressure is the reason for her resignation. Scholz had stated he'd continue with the minister for about two hours until she resigned, but the pressure didn't come from the chancellery.
"As tough as this choice was, it was the best course to quit now, and... we thank [the minister] very much," Green Party co-leader Omid Nouripour said on Monday afternoon.
"She did not provoke any harm to the gathering. Rather, she attempted to shield her office from harm at a difficult time, and for that we admire her," Nouripour said, standing with the Greens' other co-leader Ricarda Lang, who refused to respond when pressed about the successor of Spiegel.
The news on Monday comes just days after a fresh poll indicated Habeck and Baerbock, who both have been in the limelight since the Ukraine conflict began, have strong public support.
The Greens had been reluctant to publicly back the resignation of the German Family Affairs Minister for weeks, presumably anticipating that the crisis would pass swiftly.
Next month, regional elections will be held in North-Rhine Westphalia, which was also heavily impacted by last year's floods.
It will also be tough to succeed her as a minister because the party's bylaws stipulate that her replacement must likewise be a woman from the party's left-wing.
