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.
