Berlin For Robert Habeck it was a déjà vu. Exactly two weeks ago, the economics minister had to answer for one of his state secretaries before the economics and climate committees in the Bundestag.
Graichen had been shown to have conflicts of interest due to family connections. First he helped his best man to the top position at the German Energy Agency, then he signed a grant for an ecological association where his sister sits on the board. Philipp is now dealing with possible conflicts of interest due to business connections.
Philipp, who is responsible for industrial policy and start-ups in the ministry, worked as an investor before his political career. He still holds four direct investments in companies and is invested in several funds.
Even before the meeting, the Ministry of Economics had tried to dispel any appearance of bias or the risk of personal enrichment for Philip, disclosed his direct participation and the special rules for the work of the Secretary of State. With Graichen’s departure, Habeck finally wanted to put an end to the attacks on his personnel policy.
But the survey in the Bundestag showed that he did not succeed. The opposition, but also the FDP, peppered Habeck and his state secretary with questions. The process in the Philipp case shows striking parallels to Graichen. The allegations are mounting, bit by bit, and the ministry is being pushed more and more onto the defensive. Regardless of the fact that, unlike Graichen, no compliance violations have been identified at Philipp.
“I’m not friends with Mr. Böhmer”
Habeck and Philipp had to answer to the committees in particular for Sebastian Böhmer. Habeck appointed the founder of the First Momentum Ventures investment fund to his “Young Digital Economy” advisory board in August 2022.
Philipp had to admit in the Bundestag: He had proposed two candidates for the advisory board, and one of them was Böhmer. The taste: The Secretary of State is invested in Böhmer’s fund.
And Habeck disclosed that he was not informed about this connection. “I didn’t know that there was a financial stake there,” said Habeck. The opposition now accuses Philipp of deliberately doing so in order to increase the value of his investment.
Habeck defended his state secretary. It was he who explicitly asked for suggestions for expertise in venture capital for students. According to Philipp, there is no one in Germany with the expertise that Böhmer has in this area. There is also no private connection: “I am not friends with Mr. Böhmer.”
Habeck also called the business connection between Philipp and Böhmer “irrelevant”. The Advisory Board is not in a position to make policy decisions that would allow the Fund, and thus Philipp, to increase profits.
In addition, 29 people are members there, which practically neutralizes the influence of individuals. Philipp also explained that he was only concerned with Böhmer’s expertise.
Lufthansa rescue did not lead to an outcry
In the two-hour questioning in the Bundestag, Habeck presented himself with verve to his state secretary. In his opening statement, he immediately made it clear that he did not see Philipp’s company holdings as a problem, but rather as an advantage in terms of practical experience. “I’m glad that politics doesn’t just swim in its own juice,” said the Vice Chancellor.
Philipp stated he had disclosed all his holdings to the ministry about a week before he took office. There was clear confirmation that these were not a problem.
At the same time, rules were introduced to prevent conflicts of interest from occurring in the first place. Decisions that affect his direct holdings in the company would not be presented to him at all. “When I went to the ministry, I made sure from day one: I wasn’t involved, I’m not involved and I won’t be involved.”
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Above all, the opposition criticized Philipp’s commitment to the social enterprise Africa Green Tec, which takes care of the electricity supply on the African continent. Philipp holds a 4.1 percent stake in the company.
The company received a total of 100,000 euros in funding from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Philipp replied that funding of this magnitude would not even end up on his desk and that Africa Green Tec would not even affect one of his departments. He had “no knowledge” about the promotion of the company.
Philipp did not want to provide any information about the specific funds in which he invested in addition to his direct investments. He pointed out that he was not obligated to do so and that it was not relevant. Habeck reminded of Lufthansa. The former federal government from Union and SPD had saved the airline in the corona pandemic.
“It may be that there have been officials or secretaries of state in past legislatures who were involved through funds,” said the minister.
According to information from the Handelsblatt from circles in the old government, there were actually high-ranking officials in the federal government at the time who were directly involved in the rescue of Lufthansa and at the same time through funds in Lufthansa.
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