Green leader alarms “Environment APO” – Handelsblatt Morning Briefing

once again an emotional selfie, some kind of sign of “we-can-do-it”: That would be appropriate in the tough traffic light coalition talks. Because of “things are moving forward, history is being made” – the negotiations between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP are stalling.

On Thursday yesterday, the three parties even refrained from publishing a further detailed schedule in view of the many wrong colors. In public, Michael Kellner, the director of the Greens, says: “We are currently seeing too little progress in terms of the substance of the matter.”

Semi-publicly, co-party leader Annalena Baerbock mobilized the German environmental groups by letter. One wants and has to “achieve a lot, especially in terms of protecting the climate and biodiversity,” she writes. The exploratory paper “unfortunately still lacks the necessary clarity”.

And then it comes: “It would be helpful – and in parts you are already on it – if you could work to ensure that the SPD and FDP come up with ambitious proposals. If we have to continue to do this alone, it will make the negotiations extremely difficult. ”It is as innovative as it is daring.

An “environmental APO”, an extra-parliamentary opposition, is supposed to fix what the Greens themselves screwed up: They agreed to weaken the existing climate protection law.

It is also not particularly optimistic that the traffic light negotiators probably agreed on thisnot to set up a digital ministry. It is said that certain digital topics could be bundled in an existing department. Maybe in the ministries of economy, transport and interior? Exactly that already exists. And the proposal for central coordination by the Chancellery is so original that one could even call in Dorothee Bär (CSU) as an expert.

The traffic light negotiators are looking for ways to promote digitization in Germany more systematically than before.

(Photo: obs)

A separate ministry would have been important above all as an instance for the planned “digitization check” of new laws, says Dirk Freytag, President of the Federal Association of the Digital Economy: This would signal that “the digitization of Germany is finally at the top of the agenda”. It seems: the departure is being postponed, that is the new signal.

The modern Deuter on the agora of talk show society only describe the world – but what matters is to change it. Seen in this way, you can quickly find the former US presidential candidate and greentech investor Al Gore. He claims that technology contributed to the climate crisis – and must therefore also be part of the solution.

In our weekend title we present 50 green pioneers of the economy, “movers and shakers” of the new era: At Volkswagen, it is people like Elke Temme who ensure that electric cars become mobile storage networks.

Or Dietrich Brockhagen from the non-profit organization Atmosfair, who recently inaugurated the first production facility for synthetically produced aviation fuel. Or Kristina Jeromin from the Green & Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany of Deutsche Börse and the Hessian Ministry of Economics, who helps banks to implement sustainability standards. She says: “Money works – in a positive or negative sense.”

You can sponsor everything: opera, football, events, museums, parties – why not ministries too? They also have access to taxes or fees, but with such a private treat, on the other hand, they may be able to achieve overarching corporate goals. Can you explain that the Federal Ministry of Health received 1.7 million euros from Facebook and 2.1 million euros from Google – in the form of “credits for placing information on coping with the corona pandemic”?

In general, the federal government, including the highest federal authorities, collected around 164 million euros from the private sector in 2019 and 2020, so 66 million more than 2017/18.

This results from the integrity report of the federal government, which is available to our editors. The fact that 80 percent (ergo 131 million) of the increased sponsorship amount flowed to the ministry of Jens Spahn (CDU) cannot surprise anyone in view of the Corona and the hegemonic striving of the US Internet giants. Perhaps the sponsors rely on Erich Kästner: “If you have enough money, the good reputation will come about by itself.”

Jan Marsalek, 41, currently the most prominent refugee in these latitudes, has always had special relationships with the secret service and the authorities of his home country Austria. Now a current personnel around an old contact of the ex-Wirecard board of directors is causing a stir: Brigadier Gustav Gustenau, 61, switched from the important job of the chief of the security police in the Ministry of Defense to the ornamental post of a researcher in the national defense academy.

The “Financial Times” (FT) reports that the departure was the result of serious concerns about Gustenau’s proximity to Marsalek and Russia, where the former Wirecard man now lives unrecognized. According to documents that the FT was able to see, Gustenau directed public funds into projects with which Marsalek was involved. Apparently they were also connected through the Austro-Russian Friendship Society, an NGO that was sponsored by the Russian Embassy and had contact with the extreme right. Brigadier Gustenau states that he swapped jobs at his own request.

My cultural tip for the weekend: “The Many Saints of Newark”, a film by Alan Taylor, who 22 years after the start of the disruptive television series “The Sopranos” provides the prelude to the Mafia opus.

So you see the young Tony Soprano getting more and more into the clutches of the organization – played by Michael Gandolfini, the son of the late former leading actor James Gandolfini.

The “saints” of Newark, in their weird, unaffected manner, are a counter-model to well-known Mafia films by directors like Martin Scorsese. And of course you laugh when young Tony has a poster of the former cult magazine “Mad” hanging over his bed: “Alfred E. Neumann For President”.

The Tesla boss recently joined a VW management conference from his new headquarters in Texas.

(Photo: VW)

And then there is VW boss Herbert Diess, who, despite a previous cancellation, actually came to the works meeting on Thursday yesterday – and like a preacher talked to the staff. S.

One of the best is Elon Musk from Tesla, who will soon only need ten hours per car in his new factory in Grünheide. Diess does the math: In Zwickau it is more than 30 hours, 20 hours it should be in 2022 and the project goal is 16 hours. “Yes, I’m worried about Wolfsburg! We mustn’t let Tesla destroy our location, our corporate headquarters in Grünheide, ”announced Diess.

There was applause for this – but nowhere near as much as for works council boss Daniela Cavallo. She said speculations about the deletion of 30,000 positions were “contentual nonsense”. The fact that Diess keeps fueling the topic is again “pretty sad” and the employees are afraid. And finally, Cavallo made it clear that the employees would like the fascination and the enthusiasm of the CEO towards Musk “to be visible also for our current major challenges in the group”.

Diess could lose the duel, especially since the powerful supervisory board Stephan Weil (SPD) counted him in front of the workers: The task now is “not to stir up worries”, but rather to “provide perspectives.” Conclusion: It’s all that we learn again from Wolfsburg, a matter of perspective.

I wish you a relaxed weekend with good prospects.

Greetings you warmly
you
Hans-Jürgen Jakobs
Senior editor

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