The “best man affair” is a topic in the Bundestag today. Economics Minister Habeck and State Secretary Graichen have promised to be completely open with questions from MPs. The ministry relied on transparency from the outset.
How far do the family entanglements in the management floor of the Federal Ministry of Economics go? For Friedrich Merz, the head of the CDU and leader of the opposition in the Bundestag, there can only be one answer to this question: “Mr. Habeck must part with this state secretary. There is no other solution.”
Merz is not so concerned about the person of Patrick Graichen, the State Secretary for Energy Issues. Merz considers all of Habeck’s policies to be wrong. “We are talking here about a building energy law that was proposed by this clique, by this nepotism, which not only overwhelms private households, but also causes serious damage to climate protection as a whole.”
Scholz is behind Habeck
The Federal Ministry of Economics itself is meanwhile focusing on forward defense and is publishing lists of funded projects. For example, more than 500,000 euros went to the Öko-Institut for a study on battery recycling. The Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) received EUR 300,000 for training projects on the subject of climate protection.
State Secretary Graichen’s siblings hold important positions at the Öko-Institut and BUND. That’s why the money just didn’t flow over Graichen’s desk or that of his brother-in-law, State Secretary Michael Kellner, says the ministry.
And the chancellor? He recently stood behind his economics minister and vice chancellor. “He said that decisions that went wrong and that can be criticized must be corrected. That happened,” said Olaf Scholz.
“Request for clarification is understandable”
That’s why Graichen’s best man Michael Schäfer will probably not become the highly paid head of the federal energy agency Dena. But is that enough? Robert Habeck’s handling of the case has long been an issue within the traffic light coalition.
Christian Dürr, head of the FDP parliamentary group, is looking forward with a certain “interest” to today’s hearing of Habeck and Graichen in the Bundestag’s economic committee. “Of course I can understand the irritated inquiries from the public. In this respect it is good that the gentlemen come to the committee and express themselves accordingly. It is understandable that there is a desire for clarification,” said Dürr.
“Don’t mumble, cover up or talk away”
It is probably inevitable that the “best man affair”, as it is called in the government district, will also damage the image of the green hopeful Habeck, even if the economics minister himself asserts: “Where mistakes happen, you shouldn’t mumble them up, cover them up or talk them away Conversely, where no mistakes have been made, where transparency has been created, where firewalls have been put in place, you have to say that you have to separate them.” His personal poll numbers are not up for debate at all.
In the afternoon, Habeck will probably also try this separation in the Bundestag. In a current hour, Parliament deals with the firewalls and family ties in the Federal Ministry of Economics.