This is how the Baerbock Ministry justified the expensive make-up artist

In the first full year of the traffic light 2022, the costs for photographers, hairdressers and make-up artists rose to around 1.5 million euros – 80 percent more than in the previous year and even tripled within ten years. The Association of Taxpayers (BdSt) documented this in its “savings book for the federal budget” opened at the beginning of the year, which is supplemented every week with a savings proposal.

So far, in addition to various new top civil servant and federal commissioner positions, the XXL Bundestag and sensational subsidies, among other things, a desired hairstyle app funded by the Federal Ministry of Research with 1.3 million euros and the make-up artist of Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), who cost over 137,000 euros. classified as savings-worthy expenses.

Baerbock’s make-up artist on duty at photo and TV appointments

When asked by FOCUS online, the Federal Foreign Office said: “Foreign Minister Baerbock – as has long been the norm and has been known to other top representatives of Germany – is accompanied by a make-up artist to picture and television appointments.” There were no further details.

Regarding the remuneration of the make-up artists, it was said that the time-consuming travel work associated with the job and the flexibility required for numerous appointments on weekends and outside normal working hours were taken into account. Last year, a make-up artist was part of the official delegation on 47 trips by the Foreign Minister from Astana to Washington, according to Bundestag printed paper 20/5286.

In addition, the Federal Foreign Office incurred expenses for photographers in the amount of a good 178,000 euros in 2022. In the pre-Corona years of 2018 and 2019, it was just over 115,000 and 127,000 euros.

Federal Ministry of Research supports hairstyle app

The taxpayers’ association is also critical of the funding of a hairstyle app by the Federal Ministry of Research in the period from October 1st, 2022 to September 30th, 2025 with a total of 1.3 million euros. Specifically, this is the joint project “Design of adaptive and individualized customer relationships in the hairdressing trade with Augmented Reality (FrisAR)”.

Thanks to this technology, desired hairstyles can be realistically visualized and adjusted, taking into account the individual head shape and hair structure, even before the use of scissors and hair dye. The main goal of the project is to increase customer satisfaction in the salon.

The ministry made it clear to FOCUS online that this was an innovative joint project. “For the implementation of the project, extensive development work can be expected in the still largely unknown technology field of smartphone-based LiDAR scanner technology,” it continues.

Development of tailor-made technologies in the craft

“The small but strong research partners involved in the project would currently not be able to bear the economic risks arising from the technical and social risks without funding, so that this innovative project would either not be implemented at all or only much later without public funding.” With the funding This will enable the joint project to be implemented promptly and significantly advance research in the field of application-oriented augmented reality.

The aim of the funding announcement is to advance the development of tailor-made, innovative and digital technologies in the skilled trades. “The development of new, improved craft services and the creation of attractive and secure jobs in the craft are challenges that research is facing,” says the ministry. The FrisAR project and the other projects funded as part of the “Handwerk 4.0: digital and innovative” announcement made significant contributions to this.

Taxpayers’ Association President calls on traffic lights to save

If you look at it that way, the taxpayers’ association sees it differently: “It must not be a core task of the state to optimize customer loyalty, productivity and thus profit prospects for hairdressing salons.” Instead of investing scarce public funds in the development of specific products and commercial business models, Politicians and the state are called upon to set growth-promoting framework conditions for the expansion and functioning of the digital infrastructure in Germany.

According to the ministry, the expenditure was formally approved by the project sponsor entrusted with it. It says: “Before such an approval, the projects go through a selection process in scientific competition and are appraised by a committee of experts and with the participation of the responsible specialist department.”

This year, the federal budget provides for expenditure of around 476 billion euros. So what’s the fuss about a few millions? For Reiner Holznagel, President of the Taxpayers’ Association, that is too short-sighted. He calls on the traffic light to save: “Every federal minister must see himself as a savings minister and finally set priorities.”

Throwing around someone else’s money on a large scale is neither art nor responsible, Holznagel told FOCUS online. “When was the last inventory of the budget for possible savings? Nobody wants to discuss the enormous volume of inventory issues, some of which are decades old. Do we need an authority on every corner? Does the federal administration have to keep getting bigger? Do we have to decide on subsidies like on an assembly line? Politicians must rethink – and quickly!”