Poll sees traffic lights in a low mood – Green leader defends gas deal with Qatar

Created: 06/12/2022, 05:00

By: Astrid Theil

Ricarda Lang, federal chairwoman of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, draws conclusions about the first year of government of the traffic light coalition.

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa/Archive

One year traffic light coalition: In polls, the government falls.

Green Party leader Ricarda Lang believes in the original goals.

Berlin - A year ago, the traffic light coalition entered the government with the motto "dare more progress".

The coalition's first year in government was characterized in particular by crisis management.

Russia's attack on Ukraine and the economic fallout have left the government politically challenged and upended its original plans.

With consequences: Within the first year of government, the traffic light coalition has clearly lost support among the population.

In the survey by the Insa institute for the

, the coalition parties SPD, Greens and FDP together only get 44 percent - and would therefore no longer have a majority. 

Concrete satisfaction with the federal government has also fallen sharply since it took office.

64 percent of people in Germany are now dissatisfied with the government.

29 percent are satisfied.

58 percent are dissatisfied and 32 percent are satisfied with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

First year of government: Experts draw a positive balance

According to the assessment of various experts, however, Chancellor Scholz's government has done well overall.

Scholz himself drew a positive balance of government work, which was overshadowed by the Ukraine war.

The SPD politician emphasized this in his weekly video message "Kanzler compact".

The federal chairwoman of the Greens, Ricarda Lang, emphasizes that the work of the government was significantly shaped by the Russian war of aggression.

In an interview with

(December 4), she emphasized that Putin's war of aggression had made everything more difficult.

"Nevertheless, we managed to fill the gas storage tanks, we have increased child benefits, relieved pensioners, the gas and electricity price brakes are coming," she said, summing up the government's crisis management.

Greens Chairwoman Ricarda Lang: Greens' goals not thrown overboard

The goals of the coalition will continue to be adhered to.

The wind farms in particular are to be expanded further and faster.

Lang does not see the gas contract with Qatar until 2041 as fundamentally in conflict with the principles of the Greens.

It is important to become independent from Russia and for this the gas supply must be distributed to different countries.

The contract does not conflict with Germany's goal of being carbon neutral by 2045, as it was signed between Qatar and an American company - not the Federal Republic.

Germany is not obliged to buy gas until 2041.

According to Ricarda Lang, there is no conflict between climate goals and jobs: “Climate protection creates jobs.

There is an international competition about the question of which country the green technologies should settle in".

In this competition, in which the USA is currently the leader, Germany must get involved.

The economic future of the country also depends on this.

also read

Attack of Ukraine deep in Russia?

Kyiv hints - Moscow accuses

Winter grilling with the SizzleBrothers – Bavaria blu burger taste explosion

Goals for 2023: faster phase-out of coal, basic security for children and a larger rail network

In the

interview, Lang emphasized that in the coming year Germany's coal phase-out would have to be brought forward to 2030, basic child security would have to be promoted and the rail network in Germany would have to be massively expanded.

"If people can't rely on the railways, there will never be any compliance with the climate targets in the transport sector.

In a modern country like Germany, there must be a punctual train,” says Lang.

How much capacity the traffic light coalition will have in the coming year to implement the original goals remains to be seen.

The goals laid down in the 140-page coalition agreement have so far only been partially implemented.

According to the findings of the "coalition tracker" of the "Ask the State" initiative, seven percent of a total of 268 projects have so far been implemented in whole or in part.

Seven percent of the goals implemented: “Climate policy should have had a different status”

The Ukraine war "naturally created gaps," said Ursula Münch from the Tutzing Academy for Political Education.

"Climate policy should have had a completely different status." In addition, the high energy prices for Scholz and Germany's economy would remain "a major challenge", said Sudha David-Wilp from the German Marshall Fund.

There are no quick fixes here.