The much too late withdrawal from an untenable position can be so nicely disguised by no other politician than Robert Habeck. "The substance of the error could be corrected in time." The poisonous substance in this case of felt, friendship and family ties in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which was led by the Green Party for the first time, was the occupation of the top post at the state-owned German Energy Agency DENA. The old (party) friend and best man of Habeck's most important colleague Patrick Graichen was to get it. What makes the process so explosive: As a member of the selection committee, the civil servant state secretary himself was involved in this top job award until the end.
Graichen did not feel biased despite the personal connection to his favored candidate Michael Schäfer. Although the rules in such proceedings prescribe to avoid even the mere appearance of giving an advantage to a friend or relative. It was only when journalists got wind of the personnel that the "best man affair" took its course.
Graichen is said to have revealed himself to his minister, who, according to his own statement, knew nothing of the friendship between his state secretary and the new DENA chief. In the meantime, the former Berlin Green MP Schäfer has renounced the lucrative job, probably also to protect Habeck and Graichen. If, however, both should believe that with this pawn sacrifice and a moderately remorseful appearance in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the matter is over, they are mistaken.
Dense green biotope
Because even worse for the credibility of the Greens as a party of the seemingly clean slate, which feels morally superior to the political competition in terms of lobbying and transparency, is the now disclosed system of "Family and Friends" in and around the Ministry of Economics. Two state secretaries in Habeck's house are related by marriage, brother and sister Graichens work for the Oeko-Institut, which receives orders from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
It is a dense green biotope that has been fed for years by think tanks such as Agora, where it has prepared the energy transition proclaimed by Habeck as a project of the century to save the world's climate in sophisticated concepts. When the Greens deliberately secured the Ministry of Economics with Vice Chancellor Habeck at the helm in the coalition negotiations with the SPD and FDP, it was quickly rededicated to the powerful climate protection ministry with new responsibilities. As the mastermind of the ecological restructuring of the economy, Habeck brought Graichen to his side. The Building Energy Act, which will ban gas heating in a few years, bears his signature – a failed communicated and prepared project, for which Habeck also received a powerful beating from the antipode in the coalition, the FDP.
Chained tightly to Graichen in fidelity
However, Habeck considers Graichen to be indispensable and irreplaceable because of his expertise in all aspects of the green energy transition. Also because of his achievement in preventing the energy emergency after the stop of Russian gas supplies, Habeck has chained himself firmly to Graichen in loyalty. In doing so, he accepts the risk of the curiosity of a parliamentary committee of inquiry and thus also of new revelations. Graichen's statement in the Bundestag's Economic Committee has already raised new questions about further interdependencies in Habeck's household.
The fact that the CSU, which is particularly familiar with felt and "amigos", with Markus Söder at the forefront, now smells green "clan structures" and attacks the "godfather" Habeck is part of the political business in a Bavarian election year. But the Greens themselves have delivered the ammunition for such a campaign to their political opponents free of charge.
Internally, the Greens also consider it politically unwise of Habeck to have restructured his ministry at the management level with people who go to work missionarily and provoke a taste of nepotism. The argument put forward by Habeck that the energy transition cannot be shouldered with state secretaries and department heads from the time of the grand coalition seems pretextual. Even top civil servants without the "right" party membership are in a position to loyally advance the climate policy goals of a Green minister.
For Habeck and his party, the political damage of sticking to Graichen is likely to be greater in the end than the benefit of his expertise in heat pumps and wind power. Even this Sunday's parliamentary elections in their previous stronghold of Bremen could make the Greens think. They should leave their wagon castle.