Berlin Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) had little to laugh about in the last broadcast of the ZDF satirical show “Die Anstalt”. A cabaret artist raised a serious allegation: The FDP chairman is said to have reported to Porsche CEO Oliver Blume on an ongoing basis, which was discussed in the confidential coalition negotiations on an exception clause for cars with e-fuels.
E-fuels are synthetic fuels that are to be produced from renewable electricity. Porsche has high hopes for them to save the combustion engine. Environmental groups, on the other hand, criticize that they are inefficient and harmful to the environment.
The point of view represented by the “institute” became clear on the show: cabaret artist Max Uthoff said that Porsche boss Blume had “managed to keep the future use of e-fuels open for his clientele, who don’t give a damn about global warming”.
Lindner also negotiated a corresponding exception clause in the coalition agreement at Blume’s request, the cabaret artists suggested on the show. A quote that Blume is said to have uttered to Porsche employees at an internal works meeting on June 29 was displayed as evidence.
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Blume explained at the time: “We have a very large share in the fact that e-fuels were included in the coalition agreement. We were a main driver there, with very close contact to the coalition parties.” And then a sentence is quoted that publicly criticizes the FDP leader: “Christian Lindner has kept me up to date almost every hour in the last few days.”
“I chose the wrong words at an internal event. I’m sorry for that.”
(Photo: Reuters)
Porsche boss Oliver Blume apologizes for statements
The show was broadcast on Tuesday, and the allegations initially received little attention. But on Friday, the process was discussed in detail on social media. On twitter trended the hashtag PorscheGate. On Friday, VW also announced that Blume would become CEO of the parent company on September 1st.
VW tweeted about the allegations of the satirical show: “Christian Lindner is known to be a Porsche fan, which makes us happy. But there was no live ticker.”
The Porsche boss is now trying to limit the damage: Oliver Blume apologized in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag”: “I chose the wrong words in an internal event,” the future VW boss told the newspaper. “It gave the wrong impression. I’m sorry for that.”
A Porsche spokesman had previously stated: “During an internal event in June, the wording was exaggerated, and we apologize for that.” The choice of words does not correspond to the facts. The exchange did not take place and there was no influence.
Lindner spokesman rejects allegations
Today’s Minister of Finance also rejected the allegations: “Mr. Lindner’s position on e-fuels has been known for years,” said a spokesman. Accordingly, in June of this year, Lindner publicly commented on the end of the combustion engine planned by the EU and acted within the federal government. “There was no previous contact with Mr. Blume and no other influence,” said the spokesman.
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However, the satirical show did not claim that there was contact before the EU decision in June, but during the coalition negotiations at the end of 2021. ZDF emphasized that it had evidence that Blume had made the statement at the works meeting.
Lindner admitted that in October 2021 there was “only a short phone call between Mr. Blume and Mr. Lindner on questions about the use of e-fuels”. According to an FDP press release on Saturday afternoon, Lindner also spoke to the heads of vehicle manufacturers who do not support e-fuels. “As far as we know, the companies also held such talks with the negotiators of the coalition partners,” said the FDP spokesman.
In the run-up to the vote on the planned EU ban on internal combustion engines in June, there was a coalition dispute. Lindner and the FDP, with the support of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), had pushed through that cars powered by e-fuels could also be registered after 2035 – to the annoyance of the Greens.
Lobby groups try to influence coalition negotiations
For Lindner, the presentation of the ZDF satire show is uncomfortable. The events give the impression that he is not campaigning for e-fuels out of the conviction that climate protection requires openness to technology, but to help Porsche. Many criticize an alleged proximity between the FDP and car companies.
The Minister of Finance also drove up to his wedding on Sylt in early July with a model from the sports car manufacturer.
(Photo: dpa)
In fact, it is common for companies and associations to exert influence during coalition negotiations. The various lobby groups are trying to get information on the status of the talks in advance. The fact that car companies are more likely to try the FDP than the Greens is not surprising.
Every party has groups close to it. So it caused discussions at the time when the then head of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Reiner Hoffmann, was presumably able to read the coalition agreement in advance thanks to a good connection to the SPD. At least that was suggested by the processing of a digital draft in which Hoffmann was standing.
In the past negotiations, the Greens leadership not only informed environmental organizations about the status of the probes, but also asked the organizations in a letter to put pressure on the SPD and FDP during the coalition negotiations in order to be able to push through green concerns.
More: Climate tax for petrol and diesel? The SPD and FDP reject the Habeck Ministry’s initiative