German Family Affairs Minister Anne Spiegel (Green Party) has resigned. The reason is her actions during the flood last year. She had apologized last night after it was published in the press, but it was not enough to save her position.

Spiegel, 41, went on a family vacation shortly after last summer severe floods† Although she was the environment minister at the time in the hard-hit Rhineland-Palatinate, she thought she could get away with it for a few weeks.

Bild am Sonntag revealed last weekend that Spiegel went on vacation ten days after the disaster. “While people were searching in the mud for the dead, I traveled to France,” the magazine wrote.

Spiegel hastily held a press conference last night to provide explanations. Apparently devastated, she replied to the letter with an apology.

Stroke and corona stress

She wanted to create understanding of her decision by sharing some personal details. For example, she said that her husband had a stroke in 2019 and had to avoid stress. Additionally, the coronavirus lockdowns have taken a heavy toll on the couple’s four young children.

“We really needed a vacation as a family because my husband couldn’t take it anymore,” Spiegel said. “It was hard to find a balance between my responsibilities as a minister and those as a mother of four.”

Watch Spiegel’s apology here: