One of the first things Horst Seehofer did when he became minister of the interior in Germany in March 2018 was to rename the ministry.
Instead of "Bundesinnenministerium" [Interior Ministry] it was suddenly called "Heimatministerium" [Homeland Ministry]. Seehofer, a prominent member of the rightwing conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) in southern Bavaria, immediately got the nickname 'Heimat-Horst'.
Heimathorst's staff in those days consisted of six men in suits. They help...
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Caroline de Gruyter is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. This article has been adapted from one of her columns in NRC.