Robert Habeck employs two powerful men with campaign experience as state secretaries who were previously lobbyists. He got another one an influential job – at the Federal Network Agency. Annalena Baerbock also employs an ex-lobbyist as a civil servant.
One of Habeck’s parliamentary state secretaries, Michael Kellner, is married to the sister of one of his official state secretaries, Patrick Graichen. She works for an influential lobby organization, the Öko-Institut. Habeck is accused of “nepotism” or “clan” behavior. The opposition demands clarification.
Can Habeck behave the way he behaves?
The Federal Minister of Economics left unanswered a question at the transparency initiative “Membership Watch” about the new heads of department, which Habeck personally filled without a call for tenders, as did 95 percent of the other questions there. Habeck is committed to particular transparency at Bundestag Watch. Anti-corruption in public offices has been one of the basic concerns of the Greens since they were founded.
In short: is Habeck allowed to behave the way he behaves? Where are the standards for clean government action? Phone call to one of the most renowned German constitutional lawyers, the Berlin professor Ulrich Battis. Is Habeck acting clean, Mr. Battis?
If Habeck employs lobbyists in the Ministry of Economics, this is “not reprehensible”, judges the administrative lawyer. Habeck is doing what has long been common practice in the USA. “There are more and more so-called think tanks there, which are nothing more than lobby organizations, albeit at a high intellectual level.” Public administration. However, that must be disclosed – “but what Habeck did”.
Battis takes a different view when relatives play a role in public procurement or employment relationships. “The classic form of irrelevant personnel policy is nepotism. Family relationships usually lead to bias, and that is problematic, especially in the public service. But here, too, the individual case must be assessed. “If the reason for an employment or a contract is the family relationship, then you can only reject it.”
The employment of lobbyists as civil servants is a novelty in Germany
Habeck is under special observation because of the accusation of nepotism. So far, Habeck has not been able to prove that the reason for the award of orders, for example for expert opinions, is a family relationship.
This is also one of the reasons why the issue of governance has so far not played a role for the traffic light parties. The employment of lobbyists as civil servants is a novelty in Germany, especially making them top civil servants. German civil service law not only obliges civil servants to be loyal, but also to be politically neutral. This is regulated in the Civil Service Status Act. There it says in paragraph 33:
“(1) Civil servants serve the whole people, not a party. They must carry out their duties impartially and fairly and carry out their duties for the public good. Civil servants must be committed to the free democratic basic order in the sense of the Basic Law through their entire behavior and stand up for its preservation.
(2) In their political activity, civil servants must maintain the moderation and restraint that results from their position in relation to the general public and from consideration for the duties of their office.”
Whether you can take the neutrality away from the green state personnel is more or less a matter of faith
Civil service law does not expressly regulate whether someone who has been an (eco)lobbyist for years can move to a high state office. However, the point of professional civil service is that citizens can rely on civil servants to behave in a non-partisan manner. And not just there for a special citizen, their minister, but for everyone. In any case, Secretary of State is the highest level that a civil servant can achieve.
It’s a long way from the chief lobbyist of an eco-association, whose purpose is already in its name – Agora-Energiewende – to the party-politically neutral top official in a federal ministry. This applies not only to Patrick Graichen, but also to Sven Giegold, who co-founded the anti-capitalist organization Attac. And even more so for Jennifer Morgan, who led Greenpeace before she started as a top official with Annalena Baerbock at the Federal Foreign Office.
Whether you can take the neutrality away from the green state personnel is more or less a matter of faith.
