Has the Vice Chancellor already developed a sense of the critical mass that accusations of nepotism have reached in his ministry? Economics Minister Robert Habeck said at the weekend that he was of the opinion that the process for selecting the head of the federal German Energy Agency had to be “re-launched”.
That is the least. And urgently needed since it became known that his Secretary of State for Energy, Patrick Graichen, had chosen his own best man for the top job.
And all this at a time when trust not only in the traffic light coalition, but in politics as a whole has suffered from the miserable communication and implementation of the Building Energy Act on heating replacement.
Toxic mixture
Because when suspicion of being in a clique meets fear of unreasonable demands, it results in a particularly toxic mixture. This literally invites accusations along the lines of: They want to get our hands on us, but they take good care of their own cronies!
Even within his own party there are doubts about the minister’s crisis management, who was once praised for his exemplary communication skills. Now he seems to have woken up in another world.
Before the general election, the Greens wanted to nominate the chancellor. Now their values are falling, just 14 percent certified them at the weekend in a survey.
Their support in mainstream society is crumbling. Anyone who announces the unreasonable demands of climate policy without much empathy should not be surprised.
The Social Democrats have long been afraid that the plan to replace the heating system could cause people to panic if it is not socially cushioned as much as possible. The smaller partner did not understand that.
When it comes to the second emotionally charged topic, namely controlling and limiting the number of refugees, the next conflict with the Greens awaits in the coalition because they are holding back on declaring safe third countries for humanitarian reasons. That, too, can make the coalition more vulnerable in nervous times.
The crisis of the Greens is coming to a head. For the Economics Minister, if he does not create full transparency now and also appeals to mainstream society again, it will not only damage his party, but the huge climate change project.