Robert Habeck, Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Christian Lindner (FDP) (from left) after the federal government’s closed meeting in front of Meseberg Castle in May.
(Photo: dpa)
The pictures of the first cabinet retreat of the traffic light coalition at Schloss Meseberg in May gave the impression of an all-round perfect class trip. There was talk of “great cohesion”. There was also a hearty laugh.
A good four months later, nobody is laughing anymore. Shortly before the second cabinet meeting, there is nothing left of the new style of government once invoked by the self-proclaimed progressive coalition. For days, the coalition members have been falling apart in a way that is reminiscent of the times of the black-yellow coalition, when the Union and the FDP called each other “cucumber troops” and “wild pigs” in 2010.
Instead of governing, the three traffic-light parties are taking care of themselves in the midst of the greatest energy crisis in history. Driven by fears of looming popular anger fueled by skyrocketing gas and electricity bills, all three parties go into panic mode: first the party, then the country. Everyone blames everyone else for something.
In Meseberg, the restart must urgently succeed. It all depends on the chancellor. Instead of containing the dispute in his coalition, Scholz let it go – assuming that in the end only decisions counted. It has always been Scholz’s style not to present any water level reports, just the results. This type of communication also serves the Chancellor as a political protective claim: Scholz can always say afterwards that everything went exactly as he planned.
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But measured against one’s own claim to always have a plan, there are also many sudden births under Scholz, instead of well-thought-out decisions there are a number of unthought-out quick shots. The second relief package in March already showed technical deficiencies. The new gas levy is now even threatening to become a similar disaster for the traffic light coalition as the “Corona Easter peace” for the grand coalition. Not even the most cold-hearted neoliberal understands that consumers are supposed to feed energy companies with billions in profits with the levy.
>> Read here: Design errors in gas allocation apparently more serious than known
Responsibility for the gas surcharge lies with the Ministry of Economic Affairs. But Scholz announced the levy and even interrupted his vacation specifically for it. The reduction in value-added tax on all gas consumption announced in return as a relief was, contrary to what the Greens and SPD are saying, not an invention of FDP leader Christian Lindner, but was also largely implemented by the Chancellor.
When SPD leader Lars Klingbeil senses an opportunity, with a view to the state elections in Lower Saxony at the beginning of October, to trim Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck down to normal and accuses him of lacking substance, he is also targeting the politics of his own chancellor.
Habeck’s style of politics is reaching its limits
And the economics minister himself: his celebrated political style of showing self-doubt and self-criticism is now visibly reaching its limits. When the gas bill quadruples, it no longer seems so cool in terms of communication when the Minister for Economic Affairs speaks of having unfortunately underestimated the complexity of the gas market, or when he accuses companies of “free riding” that simply have to protect the interests of their shareholders. Then this style suddenly seems uninformed.
>> Read here: The gas levy is bad work by the Vice Chancellor
At the same time, Habeck opens up strange secondary theaters of war. The planned reform of the electricity market will not help in the short term. And the idea of tightening the rules for state investment guarantees for Chinese investors seems absurd in the current situation. Shouldn’t the government first get rid of Russia’s energy dependency before messing with China?
The third in the group, FDP boss Lindner, gets the anger about energy policy for lack of responsibility in parts unjustified. But he, too, acts as an accelerator of the inner-coalition dispute. For example, when he accuses the SPD and the Greens of “free mentality” in the debate about the 9-euro ticket.
However, the traffic lights will only overcome this crisis if they do not fight against each other, but fight the crisis together. And if she has an idea of what kind of support is fair, justified and, above all, affordable.
That means: First of all, Habeck has to correct the errors in the gas allocation. Then the government has to pass a relief package that does not get lost in the clientelism of three parties, but primarily supports those in need with direct payments who cannot pay their energy bills.
More: The federal government could decide on these measures in the third relief package