Not chancellor: Habeck distrusts the pop star cult - even though he leads in polls

Created: 08/11/2022, 10:40 am

By: Jens Kiffmeier

First crisis manager, then chancellor: Robert Habeck leads the polls.

But the Green knows that the gas crisis can quickly wipe out his popularity.

Berlin – Surveys are like a soufflé in the oven.

The Green Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer once made this comparison.

The food is wonderful to look at.

But if the sovereign, i.e. the voters, pricked it, the air would escape – and the size would quickly melt away.

It is quite possible that Robert Habeck has had this image in his head ever since.

Robert Habeck (Greens): Chancellor soon?

Minister leads polls on K-question

At the moment, the Green would actually have a lot of reason to celebrate.

Because Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has been experiencing an unexpected high in the polls for weeks, reports kreiszeitung.de.

The Germans consider him particularly suitable for a chancellor.

On Wednesday, the trend barometer from RTL and n-tv saw the Chancellor in first place in the so-called K question – ahead of incumbent Olaf Scholz (SPD) and CDU leader Friedrich Merz.

When asked who they would most like to have as chancellor, 27 percent of respondents voted for Habeck, 24 percent for Scholz and only 16 percent for Merz.

Can he chancellor?

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) leads the polls.

© Michael Kappeler/dpa

With this, Habeck has become a driving force for his party.

Because the minister seems to be more popular than the Greens themselves, who only rank second in the party comparison in favor of the Germans.

In front is the CDU with Merz (26 percent), just behind the Greens (24 percent).

The SPD with Scholz ended up in third place, trailing behind with 18 percent.

The Social Democrats are least trusted to solve the gas crisis in Germany.

Because that is the determining issue for the voters.

Since the start of the Ukraine war, the prices for electricity, gas, fuel and food have skyrocketed.

A large part of the problems thus falls within the responsibility of Habeck.

And in the opinion of the Germans, the Flensburg resident is doing well - above all because he is shaping a kind of new political style.

Deal with Qatar and wind power expansion: Habeck scores with pragmatism in the gas crisis

He is driving the expansion of wind power, but at the same time wants to close oil deals with Qatar, even if the sheikhs will probably let the economy minister down despite his kneeling.

Nevertheless, the pragmatist in Habeck is ready to throw green convictions overboard if necessary in the crisis.

He makes his inner turmoil public.

He sits on the talk shows, quarreling and explaining the need for action.

He embodies the opposite of Scholz, who first dives until he has found a solution.

The effect: Scholz is suddenly seen as a procrastinator, Habeck as the energetic.

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But that's just a snapshot in politics.

He knows that he is swimming on a wave of euphoria, he recently revealed to the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

But that will pass very quickly.

At the moment, the gas crisis in Germany is still very theoretical.

It only gets really tough in winter, when the high utility bills flutter into the house and there may even be a shortage of gas, so that it is no longer possible to heat all the rooms.

At this moment he is certainly no longer considered a savior.

Chancellor Habeck: The Greens don't trust the polls - because the gas prices will depress mood

Irrespective of this, it would be a rocky road for Habeck to get to the Chancellery.

Because for that, the minister would have to score points with his party in Germany at the end of the day with a really broad mass.

And that's exactly what the managing director of the opinion research institute Forsa, Manfred Güllner, doesn't think the Greens are capable of.

The surveys are not permanent, said the expert from the dpa news agency.

The eco-party is "far from being a people's party that could bring together the most diverse groups," Güllner added.

"It remains a party for the upper educated and income groups in the public service and educational institutions." But when the Greens campaign for social issues, that doesn't reach the people.

Chancellor candidacy: Robert Habeck makes no secret of his ambitions

Annalena Baerbock also had to experience this.

In the 2021 federal election campaign, she ran as a candidate for chancellor.

She also made many personal mistakes.

But apart from that, in the end the party did not penetrate everywhere with its issues.

Habeck himself never made a secret of the fact that he would have liked to stand as a candidate for chancellor.

But he had to let the current foreign minister take precedence.

It is quite possible, however, that he will still want to make his own attempt in 2025.

Soufflé or not.