German Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck (right) together with Secretary of State for Energy Patrick Graichen at a meeting on May 10. MICHELE TANTUSSI (Portal)
An alleged case of nepotism among top officials of the German Greens claimed its first victim this Wednesday with the dismissal of Patrick Graichen, number two of Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck. Graichen, deputy minister “equal to state secretary” for energy and the minister’s right-hand man, is the ideologue of the coalition government’s energy policies, including the highly controversial decision to ban the installation of new gas and diesel boilers from next year. Graichen’s departure is a blow to the image of the Greens, who have already taken a hit in the polls after proposing climate measures criticized by the opposition.
Graichen – and by extension Habeck – had been in the eye of the hurricane for two weeks after it was revealed he had facilitated the hiring of a friend and best man at his wedding as director of the German Energy Agency. He was one of three members of the panel that appointed Michael Schäfer, a former Green MP and well-known adviser on energy issues, to the position. So he has declared no conflict of interest; that is, he did not officially communicate the friendship that united them. First, Habeck came to his defense. He assured that the hiring was a mistake but that he had full confidence in his professionalism and stressed his role in quickly ridding Germany of its fatal dependence on Russian energy imports.
The German Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck announced the dismissal of Patrick Graichen during the press conference this Wednesday. CLEMENS BILAN (EFE)
But when pressure mounted both from the opposition and from within the coalition itself – consisting of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the FDP Liberals – Habeck felt compelled to act. The first was to open an internal investigation that has uncovered other not very transparent family ties. Habeck himself announced the dismissal of his confidant at a press conference in Berlin. “People make mistakes; “That was one mistake too many,” assured the minister with a serious expression. “Overall, Patrick Graichen has become too vulnerable to play his role effectively,” he added.
Habeck reported this Wednesday that Graichen violated internal regulations regarding public funding of a national research project in which his sister was involved. The former Secretary of State for Energy took part in the approval process for the delivery of 600,000 euros to the environmental organization Öko-Institut. Both his sister Verena and his brother Jakob work there. Verena is also married to Michael Kellner, another foreign minister in the same ministry. This family connection was well known when the coalition government was formed in December 2021, but was brought to light to highlight the network of family ties that senior Green officials in the German government have forged.
In a press conference, Habeck recognized how much the decision to fire his close associate had cost him and announced that he would find a replacement as soon as possible. After his intervention, the Christian Democrats of the CDU called for the abolition of the bill pushed by Graichen to decarbonize German heating systems.
Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without restrictions.
subscribe to
Both Habeck and Graichen are among the Greens, whose popularity has plummeted in recent weeks due to distrust of Germans over the cost of their climate policies and decisions like the permanent closure of nuclear power plants. The plan to prevent the installation of new boilers that run on fossil fuels has been widely criticized for its high cost and the short deadline with which it was proposed. The family scandal in the Habeck Ministry is particularly embarrassing for the Greens, who value transparency and repeatedly blame other parties for the poor handling of conflicts of interest.
In addition to polls that put environmentalists at about 15% of voting intentions, compared with 23% they registered last year, the results of the last state election in Bremen show the slump the party is going through. In the Hanseatic city, where they have traditionally achieved good numbers, approval for their candidates fell by a third to 12% compared to the last election.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Twitteror in our weekly newsletter.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits