2023-05-21 15:59:24
DSeparation from a secretary of state alone does not realign the coordinates of a government. Patrick Graichen’s self-inflicted failure could, by weakening his minister, nevertheless help to give economic and climate policy a boost towards more sober pragmatism and less moralizing activism.
Even before the separation from Graichen, the considerable reservations in large parts of the population, but also in the governing coalition, about the plans in the Habeck Ministry could not be overlooked. Anyone who wants to save the world with hasty, poorly prepared projects such as the Building Energy Act should not complain if, above all, the part of the population that is not yet gripped by the fear of catastrophe does not go along with it.
Crash in the opinion polls
It is of course uncertain whether the federal government will succeed in a pragmatic new start in economic and climate policy. It was not only the Greens and the forces associated with them in science, non-governmental organizations and the media who believed the party to be in a strategically favorable position, in which the Greens appeared as a natural government partner both at federal and state level. This position of power in connection with the conviction that because of the climate risks a quick and, in case of doubt, radical policy is essential, was the driving force behind the green project.
These ambitions are shattered by the crash in the opinion polls and an obvious distancing not only from the FDP. But also through an SPD, which naturally comes in handy when Robert Habeck, a possible candidate for chancellor, is disenchanted.
Concepts for basing economic and climate policy more on self-responsibility and less dirigiste have been around for a long time. They could probably be implemented at least partially with the SPD in the current government. But it is above all the Greens, trapped in their sense of self and mission, who have to make their peace with the political reality of this country.
#disenchanting #Greens