A year ago, the Green party’s charismatic figurehead appeared to have built a bond with the German public that would lift him into the chancellery at the next election.
Now, Robert Habeck, vice-chancellor to Olaf Scholz and head of the powerful economics ministry, is fast becoming a liability.
A Green? Economics?
The Greens have long fought against the influence of lobbyists in Berlin,
Sure, Jan.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he captured the public mood when he seemed to be on the point of tears during TV interviews
Lol, gay.
By last summer, he had firmly cemented his place as Germany’s most trusted politician, with poll after poll affirming the public’s respect for him.
Enjoy your Net Zero then.
After defeat in the Bremen election, Omid Nouripour, the party’s chairman, said that “it was clear to us that our policies wouldn’t just be met with approval” adding that “in the face of the challenges facing this country, we won’t let ourselves be dictated by polling figures
Wine Bar Putsch when?
Habeck is a perfect example of what happens when green government policies meet hard economic reality.
Like the UK govt he is trying to ban gas boilers and force people to have heat pumps, but from 2024. Consumer rebellions in Germany have much greater effect than in GB ( E10 petrol is a good example ) and the coalition is being punished for this lunacy.
Unfortunately for us all the political parties in Parliament agree with the same insane policy, so we are screwed whatever happens.
His ministry is Economy and Climate Protection which is eye rollingly oxymoronic.
Describing the Greens / Just Stop Oil / Greenpeace etc. etc:
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for (what they believe to be) our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
C.S. Lewis
Eugyppius has expanded from his Covid coverage to broader topics and gives a good background to this
https://www.eugyppius.com/p/energy-transitioner-in-chief-patrick
That CS Lewis quote is a favourite of mine.
What the average Greens politician knows about economics would fit on the back of a cigarette packet, written in crayon.
Good bit of background here:
https://notrickszone.com/2023/05/21/german-greens-in-crisis-plummet-40-in-opinion-polls-as-anger-mounts-over-bans-scandals/
And this really is amusing:
“ If that weren’t bad enough, it’s now been revealed that some of the Green Party politicians are embarrassingly ignorant when it comes to history – particularly that of their own modern country.
When a reporter of German ZDF public television asked Green Party parliamentarian Emilia Fester, 25, who became the first chancellor of the German Empire in 1871 (Otto von Bismarck), she was completely gobsmacked:”
It gets worse:
https://notrickszone.com/2023/05/23/german-green-parliamentarian-shocks-the-nation-couldnt-even-name-first-german-empire-chancellor/
BiND – it’s such a fine line, between stupid and… cultural revolution.
That CS Lewis quite is one of my favourites too. Another similar one is “The welfare of the people…has always been the alibi of tyrants…giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience.” by Albert Vamus
And . . . “unexpectedly”:
Germany enters recession following economic ‘collapse’
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12123311/Germany-enters-recession-following-economic-collapse-IMF-sharply-upgrades-UK-growth-forecast.html