background
State secretaries in the ministries are rarely in the limelight. They are the doers in the background – they are political officials with a lot of power. Large construction sites await the newcomers to the Habeck Ministry.
In the strict hierarchy of the German civil service, there is one group that stands at the top: the state secretaries. Apart from the political leadership of a ministry, they are in fact responsible for everything that happens in the house. It is the state secretaries who have to translate political projects and big announcements into laws. And even the color of the pen is specified. The joint rules of procedure for the federal ministries stipulate that the state secretary must write in red. If papers run from the bottom up through a ministry, it should always be clear who made which comment. By the way, ministers sign in green.
Not politically neutral
State secretaries are political officials and this is exactly where things get interesting, critics would say: tricky. State secretaries work at the interface between politics and administration. State secretaries are committed to the general public, but are not politically neutral. They are often appointed to office because of their party affiliation and mostly also because of their professional background. In everything they do, they are subject to civil service law.
At the same time, the political leadership, i.e. the minister, expects the implementation of their own political goals. In the case of Patrick Graichen, this balancing act obviously did not succeed. It was the merging of his private and professional life that brought him down in the end.
ministry as law machine
In addition to the state secretaries with civil servant status, there are also parliamentary state secretaries. They usually have significantly less influence. Parliamentary state secretaries must be members of the German Bundestag and should primarily serve as a bridge between the ministry and parliament.
Ever since Robert Habeck took over official business in the Federal Ministry of Economics, the house has been regarded as a law machine. The four state secretaries (three men, one woman) are very busy. The Russian attack on Ukraine has made it imperative to act quickly, especially on energy issues. In addition, Greens politician Habeck has decided to vigorously promote climate policy, especially in his ministry. His goal: the consistent restructuring of the German economy in terms of climate protection.
The ministers are in the limelight (here: Robert Habeck at a press conference). Secretaries of State work in the background.
Dispute over the heating law
There has been criticism of many of his projects. The Building Energy Act (GEG) alone is currently causing more excitement and uncertainty than any other law in recent years. For weeks, the opposition, the coalition, business associations, real and self-proclaimed energy experts have been arguing about Habeck’s heating plans.
The Building Energy Act is the most concrete part of the heat transition initiated by the federal government. In the future, a large part of the energy for heating will come from renewable energies. The now ex-State Secretary Graichen played a leading role in developing it.
Another construction site: the industrial electricity price
Another concern that Habeck’s new state secretary has to deal with is the issue of industrial electricity prices. At what cost can the important German industry produce in the future? What sounds technical is central to hundreds of thousands of jobs. Ultimately, it depends on the production costs where companies and factories manufacture.
These gigantic transformation projects are being pushed ahead significantly by the top officials of the Federal Ministry of Economics. The state secretaries are the managers there, are responsible for the staff, for the finances and ultimately also for ensuring that the employees are equipped with sensible IT. A good state secretary does not only have to be politically savvy, he also has to be able to manage personnel and handle administration.
Little known to the general public
State secretaries are usually less well-known to the general public. Even those interested in politics will probably hardly be able to name even half of all state secretaries in the 16 ministries. why? Most debates on political projects focus on the political leadership of the respective house, i.e. the minister.
The case of Graichen is correspondingly exceptional. He once again made it clear how influential state secretaries actually are. They usually don’t get any public praise when something succeeds. In the case of Graichen, energy security last winter should be mentioned. In the event of mistakes, the civil servant relationship, which is actually intended for life, can quickly come to an end.