At last. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) would have had reason enough in recent weeks to part with his controversial state secretary Patrick Graichen.

But apparently the minutes of the memorable meeting of the economic committee had to be published and the state election in Bremen lost in order to make it clear to Habeck: The longer he holds on to Graichen, the greater the damage will be. Not only for him and his party, but also for what he always describes as the noble goal of his policies: the well-being of the country.

The Greens and their role as victims

When Habeck explained Graichen's expulsion on Wednesday, he seemed almost a little relieved that the compliance department had found further processes that made Graichen appear in a bad light. Thus, Habeck did not have to make a purely political decision and justify it to his party friends, but can refer to the lawyers and the civil service law. True to the motto: I didn't want to, but I couldn't help it.

Graichen is now gone. But the system, in which a small, close-knit group of Green politicians and employees of climate protection organizations shapes one of the country's most important policy areas, is still there. It will be exciting to see whether Habeck finds someone to succeed Graichen who is not suspected of green nepotism. That would be the prerequisite for regaining confidence in the economic and climate policy of the traffic light coalition.

The Greens, on the other hand, should no longer wallow in their supposed victim role. It is not a campaign that has made life difficult for Habeck and Graichen. Nor is it just bad communication, as it is now repeatedly said by top representatives of the party. It is a policy that is poorly executed in terms of content.

Social acceptance of the heat transition is so low because it has a very short lead time and is so one-sided. From next year, private homeowners are to be ordered to switch to renewable energy sources and additional costs of several tens of thousands of euros in the event of a heating failure.

Meanwhile, exceptions are to apply to public institutions such as hospitals. Municipalities can also take even longer with their heat planning, although district heating would be the most efficient way to achieve climate-friendly heating, especially in cities. That's how you gamble away trust in politics.

It doesn't help if the Greens keep referring to the Scandinavian countries, which are already much further ahead without any public outcry. Isn't it possible? Yes, if electricity in Germany were as cheap as in Norway, then the resistance to heat pumps would certainly be lower.

Unfortunately, Habeck has just shut down a cheap source of electricity in the form of nuclear power plants. Denmark, on the other hand, has been expanding its district heating network for decades – before the ban on the installation of fossil heating systems came.

Habeck and the Greens are becoming increasingly unpopular

But it's not just about the question of how houses in Germany will be heated in the future. The declining approval ratings for Habeck and the Greens also have to do with the fact that a growing number of citizens are worried about the consequences of a policy that is almost exclusively geared towards climate protection for the prosperity built up in Germany over the past decades.

With every new announcement by a company to expand locations in the United States or China instead of in Germany, the narrative of the new green economic miracle crumbles. It would be good if the next Secretary of State for Energy would speak less disparagingly about the German basic industry than Graichen did.