Culture Minister Klepsch: The tone has become rougher

The 2024 state election campaign is a new experience for Saxony's Culture and Tourism Minister Barbara Klepsch (CDU). "The social climate has already changed," she says. "The conversations are much harsher." There is no comparison with five or ten years ago. "People are hostile to you, you get spoken to, sometimes aggressively, and often even the best arguments go unheard." She doesn't notice this in her office.

Overall positive results in culture and tourism

The 59-year-old, who comes from the Ore Mountains, has been a member of the state government since 2014 and was initially Minister of Health until 2019. She looks back positively on the past five years, despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and the time afterwards. Culture and tourism have coped well with all of this. "That's a big plus on the plus side." The number of visitors, guests and overnight stays are on the way to pre-pandemic levels.

Task of revising the Cultural Areas Act remains

The amendment of the Cultural Areas Act has also been initiated. The nationwide unique concept of cultural funding came into force in 1994. The cities of Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig each form an urban cultural area, while there are also five rural cultural areas. They decide independently on the funding of institutions and projects. The state supports the municipalities with 106 million euros.

After 30 years, the law now needs to be reviewed and readjusted, said Klepsch. The working group that has already been formed involves practitioners from the regions and external expertise. The law should be reformed by the end of 2025.

"The money is safe," said the minister. The cultural areas receive the funds, submit their applications, there are advisory boards and the municipality must also finance a share for its museum, library or other projects. This is the guarantee in troubled times that these funds are used for a specific purpose.

Culture more than an afterthought

"Local authorities need adequate funding in order to do justice to their tasks," said Klepsch - especially when there is not enough money and priorities need to be set. Priorities include daycare centers and road construction, but also culture. "It is more than just an accessory, it is the elixir of life and a location factor." After the many aid programs, an orderly financing strategy from the state and the regions that is adequate is needed again.