Robert Habeck more popular than ever: Economics Minister "on the way at the moment" to become the new chancellor
Created: 07/02/2022, 15:40
By: Marc Beyer
Economics Minister Robert Habeck.
© Britta Pedersen/dpa
No member of the government is currently as popular as Robert Habeck.
It has nothing to do with his technical decisions.
But with how he conveys them.
Munich – Contrition rarely came across so closely.
The camera shows Robert Habeck in a close-up, he is unshaven and the sleeves of his shirt are rolled up.
The Doha skyline can be seen in the background.
The economy minister fears a complete halt to Russian gas supplies and has held talks about gas supplies – in Qatar, a country that he, as a Green politician, sees with extreme skepticism because of its handling of human rights.
But necessity knows no law, and so he reports on the negotiations.
He begins by saying that this trip is "somehow totally strange".
"The Next Chancellor": Robert Habeck like a pop star of German politics
It has a special sound when Habeck speaks.
He takes the audience into the gray area of realpolitik, where compromises are made and beliefs sometimes go overboard.
Nobody broods and quarrels as openly as he does.
Habeck does not hide the hardships that the war brings for the citizens, nor the unreasonable demands on his own party, because he has coal-fired power plants started up again and does business with sensitive partners.
Contradictions are not only part of his work, he is celebrated for them.
On the Internet there are comments such as "This is how communication works" or "The next chancellor".
Habeck (52) is something of a pop star right now.
People who are otherwise unfamiliar with politics hang on the minister's every word because his words are so precise and compassionate.
While his own party celebrates him for it and the Munich member of the Bundestag Jamila Schäfer calls him a "philosopher and pragmatist at the same time", the competition is downright jealous.
The curious thing: the worse the news, the greater the popularity of the bearer.
Video: Habeck fears - soon no more gas from Russia?
The Economics Minister finds the right words
In difficult times, people are looking for orientation, and the Economics Minister delivers reliably.
He transports his messages as catchy "as in the 'Show with the Mouse', only on the highest level of world politics," attests the industry
service Meedia
.
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For example last week.
He was asked on ZDF whether they wanted to encourage citizens to save energy with bonuses.
Habeck said no.
If someone in this serious situation asked for 50 euros as an incentive, they would say: "You won't get it, dude!" It couldn't be more concise.
Olaf Kramer is not surprised at the popularity ratings.
"He has a very large repertoire of communicative possibilities," says the Tübingen professor for rhetoric and knowledge communication.
The brooding undertone, the almost literary interjection, the casual remark.
In addition, there is a visual language in which his team leaves nothing to chance.
Before a trip to the Middle East, the Ministry distributed footage of Habeck on the way to the plane: in a leather jacket, a garment bag in one hand, with the other he throws a travel bag over his shoulder.
"Political communication is generally becoming more and more cautious," says Kramer.
With Habeck it is exactly the opposite.
The image of a politician who is different from the others is painted anew with every appearance.
Robert Habeck: What is behind the staging of the Green politician?
Behind this is an elaborate staging that makes some things look more natural than they really are.
And maybe it flatters Habeck's ego when, after a government statement, people gossip about the minister wearing a T-shirt under his jacket.
On the other hand, Kramer points out that the juxtaposition of serious politics and supposed banalities is not a contradiction in terms: "He is able to convey a feeling of authenticity."
The question of whether someone is a good politician or whether he is just skilfully putting his actions into words and pictures does not arise for him either: "Politics is communication." No matter how clever projects can be planned, the best idea is useless if the citizen does not understand them.
As a counter-example, Kramer cites Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht: "Communicatively, she produces one disaster after another."
From July 1st, members of the Bundestag can look forward to a salary increase.
The references are given in detail.
Could Habeck become the new chancellor?
- "On the way there at the moment"
Where is the hype going?
Long-term forecasts are a thing in politics, and the Greens in particular know how fleeting a commodity popularity can be.
Maybe it will wear out at some point, Habeck wouldn't be the first.
Currently, however, Kramer sees it in a stable upward trend.
The Chancellor's comments on the Internet, he recommends, should not be dismissed so lightly: "At the moment he is on the way there." (
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