State Secretary Patrick Graichen and his boss, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), continue to face severe criticism from the opposition. The main reason for this is the selection of a new managing director for the state-owned German Energy Agency, in which Graichen was involved, although in the end the choice fell on his best man Michael Schäfer. Both Graichen and Habeck now speak of a mistake. The procedure for selecting personnel is to be rolled out again.
Most recently, both of them commented on this in the committees for economics and climate protection and energy – albeit behind closed doors. The traffic light committee members had insisted. In his own words, much to the regret of Habeck. The Bundestag administration has now published the minutes of last Wednesday’s meeting. Read Habeck’s opening statement here after the Economic Committee Chairman Michael Grosse-Brömer (CDU) asked him to go into the circumstances of the merged committees:
Habeck regrets that the meeting is not open to the public
“Dear Mr. Chairman or both Chairmen, unfortunately I can’t say anything about that because it is purely legislative action. The committees decide as they wish. However, I can say that I regret that it will not be broadcast publicly. I would have been very happy if the public could participate in this meeting.
As I said, I cannot comment on the committee votes, but I would like to point out that the probable interpretation of what is happening here, one does not have to be particularly clever, will certainly not help to clarify the facts. I think it would have been good if the public had formed their own opinion.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear Chairmen, Once again, I am very pleased that this committee meeting is taking place. I got to know both committees as extraordinarily differentiated and factual in their work, and that seems to me to be appropriate in this matter. We are all politicians and we know that it is not always about clarifying the facts, but about power, power interests, approval, majorities and it is also right and okay.
“Insinuations and Falsehoods”
Nevertheless, I believe it is important that we always muster the strength to differentiate, even though we live in this political arena, and that’s how we want to handle it here today, at least from my side. In the last few weeks and months, and I would like to start with that, we have talked and worked with a degree of harshness and sometimes malice that goes far beyond the usual level.
Insinuations and untruths were put into the world. Nasty phrases were used and the work of the entire Ministry of Economic Affairs was partially defamed. In the process, everything gets mixed up with everything else, and I will go into that again in a moment, but at the outset, please allow me to stand in front of my house, in front of my fellow Members, and to oppose blanket suspicions and insinuations and also extremely wary of insults towards them.
The people who work in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, some of whom have been working there for a very long time, who have sworn an official oath, they have done and continue to do outstanding things. And, if I may say so, in some cases certainly more and more relevant than some who offended them.
“It’s about power and power interests, that’s our job”
Please allow me to make the following comments: We politicians often follow tactics and set things up strategically. As I said: It’s about power and power interests, that’s our job and that’s okay. It is part of the political operation. But from time to time you have to ask yourself and question yourself whether your own handling of power is always sufficient.
I’ve done this frequently over the past few days and have checked my decision again and again. That’s why we’ve acknowledged mistakes where they happened. However, this check of whether one meets one’s own standards is something that everyone has to do for themselves, and I’m not sure whether all colleagues in the opposition are subject to this mirror look.
Habeck criticizes personal debate about heating transition
Let me get to the point, there are four complexes to distinguish. Firstly, the GEG, i.e. the Building Energy Act, a law that leads to many debates, debates that are necessary. A law that, in my view, is also necessary in order to fulfill what the previous government decided to do, namely to make Germany climate-neutral and to protect consumers from the high prices that will follow.
A law that of course also affects interests, in this case the interests of oil and gas companies, and negatively so. So I know there’s opposition to the law, but I think, and that’s my point, the debate about renewable heat versus oil and gas heat shouldn’t be about attacks on the person, it’s about the substance.
Family relationships at the head of the BMWK
Secondly, apart from this: the appointments at the beginning of the legislative period, the second point that you have to distinguish. Yes, new posts were created in my ministry to ensure the coalition’s ability to function via the Vice-Chancellorship.
But fewer than, for example, when the government was formed in 2018, when 41 jobs were created, with us 35. All jobs that have been created are marked as kw, i.e. linked to the task of the Vice Chancellor. If that goes away, the jobs will go away too. State Secretary Hajduk is happy to report in more detail on this.
Third complex, also separated from it: the allegations against the family relationships of State Secretary Waiter and Patrick Graichen. Transparency was created independently by both of them right at the beginning of the legislative period.
Habeck about retracted firewalls
Fire walls were immediately put in place and the structures erected accordingly. The departments were informed in writing that award procedures that affect the Ökoinstitut and the BUND eV must not go over the desk of the State Secretary.
And vice versa, I would like to point out that the Federal Court of Justice already ruled in June 2020 that a conflict of interest, which of course can exist, can only justify a blanket award ban to the extent that the risk of an influence on an award procedure cannot be averted by other, milder means can be.
It is therefore not or would not be permissible to exclude an entire association from tenders across the board. Rather, it is the task of the authority to set up a suitable procedure to avoid conflicts of interest, and that is exactly what we did right after taking office.
New appointment to the dena management board
And now to the fourth topic, distinguishing everything and not mixing it up: the replacement of the dena management board. Yes, a mistake happened here that shouldn’t have happened. We admitted it, we drew the necessary conclusions and it is correct, of course it is also legitimate to ask whether the mistake is so serious that I have to fire State Secretary Patrick Graichen. And of course I asked myself this question and certainly Patrick Graichen himself as well. I said no.
First of all, the tender is repeated, of course that doesn’t undo the mistake, I’m well aware of that, but it allows a new dena management to work free of the allegations of bias.
Secondly, the sensitivity to possible conflicts of interest was increased again. As a lesson from this, the selection committee will be set up more broadly and better precautions will be taken so that conflicts of interest cannot arise. I expressly welcome that.
“Web of Insinuations”
Mistakes have to be named as mistakes, we did that. But my point is that some of the allegations that have been made are also made up of a web of insinuations and even false claims. I said what I said at the beginning, I want us to find the strength to differentiate. We will answer differentiated. Thanks very much.”
This opening statement was followed by questions from the committee members present and answers from Habeck himself or his state secretaries.
You can find the entire log here here.
