Cabinet retreat of the traffic lights: Chancellery instead of the castle

The cabinet is meeting for its first retreat today – because of Corona in the Chancellery, not at Meseberg Castle. Does this exchange work far away from everyday life? It’s not just the G7 presidency that needs to be discussed.

Back then, before Corona, cabinet meetings were still held at Meseberg Castle in Brandenburg, 70 kilometers from the Chancellery. So: far away from everyday political life. For the members of the government there is always an opportunity for exchange and networking in a special atmosphere. Is there such a thing as a “Ghost of Meseberg”? As an answer to this question, the former Federal Minister Sigmar Gabriel had only one answer before 2014: “raspberry spirit”. “I can only report from the late hour and red wine, I didn’t find out anything about raspberry spirit. But overall the spirit was good,” said then-Chancellor Angela Merkel four years later.

It is said to have been very high back then. Former Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer from the CSU was quite happy with that: “Now you don’t need to get nervous if one or the other is having a discussion with one another. We’re not talking about Hallen-Halma here and of course there are also different opinions in a federal government , but that’s not bad.”

Chancellery instead of a castle

The current traffic light government is not enjoying the spirit of Meseberg this time. “Due to the corona, the exam will take place in the Chancellery, in the beautiful international conference room,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. He tries to talk about staying at home in a nice way and also mentions the practical advantages: “In this respect, it’s easy for you to travel there and back, you don’t have to go to Brandenburg.”

The location is different, but the goal remains the same: This time, too, it should be about the exchange, about getting to know each other better. And specifically: this year’s German G7 presidency. Development Minister Svenja Schulze from the SPD has already announced in the Funke newspapers that she wants to help developing countries set up their own vaccine production as part of the G7 presidency.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz mentioned another topic in his New Year’s speech: “We will use our presidency to ensure that this group of states becomes a pioneer, a pioneer for climate-neutral economies and a fair world. International cooperation is important in a world with almost ten billion inhabitants Residents, our voice will only be heard when we perform in chorus with many others.”

Acceleration in housing construction

The cabinet retreat in the Chancellery should also be about speeding up planning processes. A central point in the coalition agreement. The goal: to promote housing construction and the expansion of renewable energies. In December, an inconsistency between the ministers became apparent. The Green Ministry of Climate under Robert Habeck had announced that it wanted to relax nature conservation guidelines – for the expansion of solar and wind power. Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, also from the Greens, then made it clear in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” that the extinction of species is at least as dramatic as the climate crisis.

Such inconsistencies can now also be addressed during the exam. And maybe Chancellor Scholz can draw a positive conclusion in the end, as he did in 2018 as Deputy Prime Minister: “Team building succeeded, the rest is coming now.”