Jens Südekum, adviser to Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of the SPD, expressed his regret that economist Ulrike Malmendier’s contract will not be renewed.
“In I regret her departure very much” he told the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday edition). He noted that before her 2022 appointment the Council of Economic Experts suffered a long vacancy amid intense political turmoil. “It was a major coup that we managed to bring a top scientist of Malmendier’s calibre on board” he said. “She brought fresh, academically grounded insights to the debate and, for example, drafted the concept for the early‑retirement pension”.
Südekum, a professor of economics at the University of Düsseldorf, cautioned that ending her participation in the council so abruptly could send a negative signal to the research community. According to “Handelsblatt”, the Federal Ministry of Economics and the Chancellery are blocking the extension of Malmendier’s term.