Ministry of Economics in the crossfire: Habeck defends his people – "It's not shit what I'm saying"

Created: 09/23/2022, 10:38 am

By: Erkan Pehlivan

Robert Habeck leaves the press conference on the takeover of the gas importer Uniper by the federal government.

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa

Robert Habeck's ministry is caught in the crossfire – and under pressure.

The minister sees some employees at the limit for a long time.

Berlin – In view of the Ukraine war and its economic consequences, the pressure on the Federal Ministry of Economics is increasing.

Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has now placed himself in front of his employees.

"People, at some point they have to sleep and eat," said Habeck at a congress of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) in Berlin.

"It's not shit I'm telling now: people are getting sick.

They have burnout," said the minister.

The Greens politician complained that his employees got tinnitus and could no longer do it.

Habeck's ministry: 20 laws and 28 ordinances in nine months

Habeck reported that 20 laws and 28 ordinances had been passed in his ministry in the past nine months.

“I would have to count how many laws the Ministry of Economic Affairs made in the last legislature.” Habeck would guess there were fewer.

In view of the effects of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the workload of the economics minister himself is likely to be at least as high as that of his employees.

During an appearance on the ARD talk show "Maischberger", he explained that he actually no longer came to buy or eat bread.

Energy crisis: France could deliver less energy than expected in winter

But the difficulties are not abating: in the last stress test for Germany's energy supply, he assumed that 50 gigawatts of power could be generated again by the French nuclear power plants by Christmas, Habeck said at the appointment.

The assumption was based on communication with the relevant authorities in the neighboring country.

In contrast, a recent stress test in France resulted in a realistic scenario of only 45 gigawatts, possibly less, according to Habeck.

Habeck praised the BDI's approach of committing to Germany's climate goals despite the energy crisis.

BDI President Siegfried Russwurm had previously confirmed that German companies want to stick to the climate targets for 2030 and 2045 despite the energy crisis.

Investing in the future must not flag, said the minister.

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