Committee, plenary session, press conference: Compared to the heating debacle, the Minister of Economic Affairs has learned a lot from dealing with the crisis.
The face is not easy to read. Robert Habeck smiles, but a little mockingly, almost condescendingly. And his look from the corner of his eye is also sharp, as if he wanted to say: Just be careful, friend, if the two of us meet alone in the park at night.
Friday morning in the Bundestag: The Economics Minister sits on the government bench, the CDU General Secretary complains at the lectern. Carsten Linnemann criticizes the federal government in economic policy, energy policy and the issue of nuclear power. And that’s exactly where the Christian Democrat chief attacker personally attacks Minister Habeck: “What happened in your ministry is simply unspeakable,” complains the Christian Democrat. “You do not do that!”
He doesn’t say anything more about it. It’s a rhetorical trick. Linnemann doesn’t bother with details. He acts as if the defendant had already been convicted. As if it were already written in all history books that Habeck is an evildoer in ministerial garb, who allowed himself to be manipulated to phase out nuclear power, was ideologically driven and does not have his house under control. Everyone knows! This message should stick, it must be the political goal of the opposition, completely legitimate.
Habeck is clear about that. Since the Heating Act, at the latest, he has known how much his critics enjoy pursuing traces of ideological obstinacy in his ministry and would prefer to see their end in his office. To avoid this outcome, Habeck got up early in the morning. The Vice Chancellor, who has not yet given up hope of perhaps even becoming Chancellor at some point, counters this. Unlike the heating law, this time he doesn’t whine or whine. Still, it will be a long Friday for him.
Did his officials deceive him?
Shortly before eight o’clock in the morning, Habeck was already standing in front of the room where the parliament’s energy committee meets. The MPs had summoned him after the magazine “Cicero” reported on Thursday, citing documents from Habeck’s house, that the minister had been misinformed by his officials. They wanted to prevent the service life of the last nuclear power plants from being extended beyond 2022 at all costs. Habeck at the mercy of green ideologues, clueless, tricked. Not a pretty picture. But is it true?
The minister tries to give the impression of being in a good mood. He is looking forward to the meeting, says Habeck, and first sings the praises of how successfully the government has overcome the energy bottlenecks since the start of the Ukraine war: gas storage facilities are full, prices are falling, as are carbon dioxide emissions. “We got through the crisis really well.” But that’s not what this morning is about.
Did officials at his company deceive him about the possibility of extending the term? As for the nuclear power plants, Habeck says, it was the energy companies that did not consider prolonged operation to be realistic in the first months of 2022. The fuel rods were “sucked out,” as the minister put it. Was he sure that all relevant information had reached him? He backs off a little. The company is large, has 2,400 employees, there is a lot of discussion and not every exchange is recorded word by word. In any case, he addressed all the important questions in the discussions with the energy suppliers. That was “crucial” for him. If he were to explain this to the committee straight away, the MPs would definitely experience “an exciting hour”.
“There was no secret knowledge that didn’t reach me”
After that, Habeck isn’t quite as happy anymore, but he still seems satisfied. The allegations “could be classified quite well,” reports the minister from the committee. By “man” he obviously means himself. The documents told “a different story than the one that was rumored,” says Habeck. “The assumption that there is some kind of secret knowledge that hasn’t reached me” is wrong.
Habeck disappears into the Bundestag plenary session while the opposition gives its assessment. Of course it sounds different: the minister didn’t answer everything, was evasive, and questions remained unanswered. But none of the critics are really foaming at the mouth.
Habeck spends a few hours on the government bench in the Bundestag. The Climate Protection Act is passed, as is another law on solar energy. Actually a good day for him and the Greens. He doesn’t want to let it get ruined. It is now a matter of regaining thematic hegemony. Just don’t get caught up in a whirlwind of new accusations and questions. He sits out Carsten Linnemann’s attack grimly.
Finally questions about the amortization account and the resilience bonus
The next performance in the afternoon. Energy transition. Things are progressing, says Habeck. With wind energy at sea, also on land. “It’s going really well.” The minister brought several tables. The curves rise. Even the number of kilometers of electricity networks built has increased fivefold within two years.
Habeck is asked almost two handfuls of questions. The minister talks in detail about the hydrogen amortization account, which he thinks is a good idea, and about the resilience bonus, which he regrets being omitted from the solar pact. The curiosity of journalists: a festival for climate experts, gibberish for generalists. Habeck feels good, you can tell. There is only one more question about the atom. He answers them patiently. The opposition’s criticism was presented in a “rather questioning” way, he said again from the committee. “I think I was able to answer them to a large extent,” says the minister. “Nothing has been covered up.” He is asked whether this is the end of the matter. “It’s not up to me to decide,” Habeck replies. He knows this from painful experience.
In any case, day one after the critical reports didn’t go badly for him. Habeck has learned from his mistakes with the heating law. No more sadness, no more world-weariness. Maybe even Carsten Linnemann wouldn’t have so much to worry about if he met Habeck alone in the park tonight.