Cologne, Mönchengladbach, Stuttgart Robert Habeck is in the basement. This time really and not in any polls. In the boiler room of a Cologne clinic, he stands next to the silver pipes that threatened to ruin his political career. For months, the Federal Minister of Economics has been arguing about his heating law and its popularity has plummeted.
In the Cologne basement, Habeck has to take care of a real heater on Tuesday evening. Dust particles shimmer through the air, the white-grey plaster on the walls is rough. Habeck should first plug the transitions between the pipes and then insulate them. Everything under the guidance of Marco Goetzke. The 30-year-old is the founder of a four-person craft business.
Goetzke is a yardstick for Habeck: How much will the heating drama damage the Green politician and his vision in the long term, not on the right, but in the middle of society? For craftsmen, in the middle class. The people who Habeck needs politically to get out of the doldrums and to implement his energy transition. The minister is standing next to the heating engineer in a black shirt with rolled-up sleeves, black pants, and black shoes, and he can’t stop trying to find out.
Goetzke’s standard answer to all the questions: “It depends.” Heat pumps in unrenovated houses too? It depends. Heating with hydrogen? It depends.
Will Habeck get back on his feet politically? Here, too, “It depends” would probably be the answer that Goetzke would have given. And with which he would have been right.
While Habeck went from being the celebrated Vice-Chancellor to being a whipping boy in the public debate, the view of business on him was more differentiated from the start.
(Photo: dpa)
Habeck’s visit to the Rhine metropolis is part of his summer trip. The entire current week is for the 53-year-old across the republic. The attempt to win back the middle class does not seem completely hopeless. Habeck is still acceptable in the workshops and research centers. But the road to old times is long. The pop star image is badly scratched. Even far away from Berlin, Habeck cannot completely get rid of the heating dispute and traffic light noise.
The economy as a yardstick for Habeck’s future
The Vice Chancellor is also speaking to citizens these days. But the citizen dialogues in Heidelberg and Aachen turn out to be a feel-good program. Critical questions are sparse. It is questionable whether this is a representative indicator for Habeck in these times.
“Robert-explains-the-world-and-gives-himself-the-tasks-passages”, that’s what the Green politician calls his answers to the citizens’ questions.
(Photo: dpa)
The visits to a good dozen companies are also not representative. The ministry, as is usual, has carefully selected the companies. But there is one striking difference: while Habeck went from being the celebrated Vice Chancellor to being a whipping boy in the public debate, the view of business on him was more differentiated from the start.
Your picture of Habeck is a better and less emotional indicator of his failures and successes. It is more helpful for the question of what potential Habeck still has politically if the heating dust should have settled at some point.
The German corporate landscape in its breadth is ultimately a reflection of society. Everyone has their own problems and their own way of looking at the Economics Minister. From the billion-euro corporation like Bosch to the Rhenish handicraft business, in between the world market leader Bürkle + Schöck from Stuttgart, who hardly anyone knows. Habeck begins his summer trip there on Monday.
>> Read here: Federal government supports Bosch project with around 160 million euros
The company has around 100 employees and is family-run in the third generation. More Swabian middle class is not possible. Bürkle + Schöck makes electrical engineering for energy systems. Habeck is warmly welcomed and immediately gets an entry in the planning system for the fitters – it’s called “roha1000” there.
One of the fitters suggests entering the installation of a heat pump in roha1000. “Oh no,” jokes Habeck.
Economics Minister faces a dilemma when it comes to medium-sized companies
Nothing here looks like a world market leader, more like a garage that has turned out to be a bit too big. An employee winds up a copper coil, and Habeck does the same. The end is fixed with a piece of adhesive tape. “You just do it with Tesa?!” Habeck is puzzled. It’s special tape, they assure him.
The economic crisis is causing problems for medium-sized companies.
(Photo: dpa)
After the tape and transformation, managing director Thomas Bürkle lets it be known that the optimism is not that great. The economic crisis does not go unnoticed by Bürkle + Schöck. The company has stopped all investments, reports Bürkle, standing in front of a single-phase transformer with Habeck. Material prices have increased enormously. Habeck asked whether the prices could not be passed on to customers. “It’s not that easy when you’re in international competition,” Bürkle replies.
A moment that shows the dilemma for an economy minister. Habeck cannot solve the price problem of the Swabian medium-sized company. At least not directly. Big industry can be handed thick funding notices. Propose an industrial electricity price, as Habeck did. Small and medium-sized companies usually only benefit from structural reforms.
And they are often politically rare because they are complicated and lengthy. Especially right now in the traffic light. An economics minister is quickly seen as someone who neglects small and medium-sized businesses.
>> Read here: Steel and chemical managers warn: “Without an industrial electricity price, emigration is inevitable”
That happened to Habeck’s predecessor, Peter Altmaier. Also out of incompetence. In his industrial strategy, the CDU politician talked about national champions and simply didn’t mention medium-sized companies. Habeck faces a similar fate. From being an industry critic, the Schleswig-Holsteiner has meanwhile become a courtier of the corporations, whether at Thyssen-Krupp or Intel. However, Habeck seems to have noticed the image that is threatening to build up in the economy.
Successful practical examples are not enough for Habeck
Medium-sized companies are part of the German DNA. Neglecting it comes with immense political costs. Habeck will hardly want to take over. Especially not in its industrial strategy. Work on it is still ongoing.
The strategy should first be presented at Industry Day at the end of June. Now we’re talking about autumn. Not because of disagreement. But because of the complexity of hitting the right note. Those involved in the ministry have now heard that the strategy is to be much broader than originally planned. Not only industry, more the trade in breadth. Not only Thyssen and Intel, but more medium-sized companies.
The stops on the minister’s summer trip were carefully chosen.
(Photo: dpa)
Habeck’s trip ended on Wednesday for the time being. The Vice Chancellor had to return to Berlin for a short time. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has once again invited to a coalition committee before the summer break.
>> Read here: Debate on the threat of industrial brain drain – “You should be very concerned”
On Wednesday morning, at the end of the summer trip, Habeck met a whole series of medium-sized companies again. In a housing estate in Mönchengladbach, various construction companies are renovating multi-family houses in piecework. New facades, new roofs, new heating.
It is the implementation of the energy transition in the most private format. The Hardt district is of course a model district. An energy turnaround in which tenants also save. The middle class that implements this. The federal government that promotes it. Nobody knows whether this will succeed on a broad scale. Habeck needs more real-life examples like this one. Then he could also politically have the chance to get back on his feet.
Habeck stops in front of a half-completed renovated house. The heat pump from Samsung is still in the front yard. The Economics Minister looks at the roof and is surprised. The solar cells on it are new. The roof tiles old. On the other hand, the roofs of many houses in the district have been completely renovated. The Economics Minister wants to know when that will be cheaper. The owner’s answer? “It depends.”
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