The green economics minister and his state secretary answered questions from the members of the economics committee.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) does not want to dismiss his State Secretary Patrick Graichen because of his misconduct in filling an important position. “I have decided that Patrick Graichen does not have to go because of this mistake,” said the minister on Wednesday in Berlin after his questioning at a joint meeting of the committees for economics and climate protection and energy. “And the debate in the committee gives me, I think, a certain hope that the differentiation will also make this decision more understandable,” added Habeck.
The background is the selection of a new managing director for the federal German Energy Agency (Dena), in which Graichen was involved. In the end, the choice fell on his best man, Michael Schäfer. Both Graichen and Habeck now speak of a mistake. The procedure for selecting personnel is to be rolled out again.
The specifications of the Ministry of Economics were “recognizable violations,” said Habeck. “In this respect, there is also an examination of the extent to which civil service law is affected.”
The opposition sees further ambiguities. “Many questions remain unanswered,” said CDU economics expert Julia Klöckner after the survey. “The traffic light factions missed a great opportunity today to provide clarification and transparency.” They would also have voted against a public session. That’s why we want another survey.
Graichen and Habeck are under particular pressure because Graichen’s best man was selected as the new head of the state-owned German Energy Agency (Dena). Graichen was involved in the pre-selection process. Habeck has meanwhile described this as a mistake, and the appointment process is being reopened. A new boss is being sought.
Habeck said after the committee meeting that the questions had all been answered, and that you might have to add more here and there. In the past, however, the error in the Dena occupation was mixed up with other topics: “So that there was a web of insinuations, untruths and insinuations.”
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