Photo fees at the Ministry of State caused controversy – members of the Haag FDP sharply criticized the fees. What is behind the increase in this number?
The images are used, among other things, for press and public relations work: from 2020 to the end of September 2025, the Baden-Württemberg State Ministry led by Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Green Party) spent almost 100,000 on photographers’ services, according to a response from the state government to a request from the FDP. In the current year alone, 18,936 euros had been spent at the end of September.
Therefore, the resulting footage is used for online appearances, social media channels, as well as press and information materials. “Most of the photography costs, for example, are used for documentation of protocol-related events and occasions such as medal ceremonies, state visits and inaugurations as well as cabinet photos, which are usually taken over by the responsible state ministries.” Economy Minister Kretschmann Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut (CDU) recorded photo costs of 16,224 euros in 2025 at the end of September. The least expenditure during this period was incurred in the science department of Petra Olschowski (Green Party): 1,017 euros.
Spending is higher after Corona
In the first year of Corona, the cost of photos at the Kretschmann State Ministry was only 4,360 euros, in 2021 it was 3,574 euros, in 2022 it was 19,230.15 euros, and in 2023 it was 32,897.11 euros. Kretschmann’s spokesman said the higher costs were partly due to the rescheduling of appointments due to the coronavirus pandemic. “In addition, there were personnel constraints in the departments responsible for online communications, social media and websites in the Ministry of State during this period, which meant that external photographers had to be increasingly used.” In 2024 there will be a decrease in costs to 19,925.87 euros.
FDP politician Friedrich Haag complained: “Kretschmann has quite a number of employees in the State Ministry. If external photographers were hired regularly, something would go wrong.” Especially in times of limited budgets, the Prime Minister must also pay close attention to how tax money is spent – prestige records are certainly not one of Baden-Württemberg’s priorities.
