Germany's Green Party Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck (Robert Habeck), has suffered a setback in his decarbonisation plans following the departure of State Secretary for Energy, Patrick Graichen (Patrick Graichen).
The state secretary in Mr Habeck’s ministry stepped down after facing weeks of allegations of cronyism (appointing friends and associates to senior positions without due regard for their qualifications). The accusations began when it was revealed that a candidate for the new leadership of the state-owned energy agency was a groomsman at Mr Graichen’s wedding. The minister, who had initially stood by Patrick Graichen, stated that his secretary had made “one mistake too many”, making his resignation necessary to avoid damaging the reputation of the ministry. Mr Habeck emphasised that this would “significantly affect” energy transition policy plans. The decision was made just days after the Green Party suffered its worst result in over twenty years in the Bremen state elections, as the allegations had dented its standing in national polls.
Patrick Graichen, the state secretary for energy in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) appointed by the Green Party, has left his post. This move followed weeks of criticism from the opposition and the media regarding Mr Graichen’s role in the selection process for the new head of the government-owned German Energy Agency (Dena), where the state secretary—who is responsible for implementing the minister's policy proposals—failed to disclose at the start of the process that the ministry-appointed candidate had been a groomsman at his wedding. As a result of subsequent internal audits, Mr Graichen has been temporarily suspended, Green Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck announced at a press conference.
During a parliamentary committee hearing a week before Mr Graichen’s suspension, Mr Habeck stated: “I have decided that Patrick Graichen does not need to resign because of this mistake,” yet he announced a review of the civil service law, noting that ministry guidelines had been “unmistakably breached”.
An internal audit revealed that Mr Graichen had approved a list of project proposals for a national climate action initiative eligible for government support, which included a project by the NGO “Friends of the Earth Germany” (BUND), where Mr Graichen’s sister previously held the position of Berlin regional chair. The project was classified as worthy of financial support, but the document should not have been submitted to Mr Graichen, nor should he have signed it, Mr Habeck noted, adding that no funds had been paid out to date.
“One mistake too many,” said Mr Habeck. The minister maintained that none of the errors alone would have been grounds for resignation, but together they breached ministry guidelines. “I have expressed my support for Mr Graichen because people make mistakes,” explained Mr Habeck. “However, he has made himself indefensible,” the minister said, adding that this would have begun to undermine trust in the ministry itself and hampered its ability to act. Since then, the minister and Mr Graichen mutually decided that ending the employment relationship was the best way to avoid further damage to the ministry's reputation.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Mr Graichen noted that the challenges facing Germany “are too great to be overshadowed by the debate about me and my family. Our goal must be to remain capable of acting on the energy transition and climate change”.
Patrick Graichen “revitalised the energy transition in Germany” – Minister R. Habeck emphasised
Mr Graichen had intended to lay the groundwork for Germany to become climate neutral by 2045 and to reach the intermediate target of 80% renewables in energy consumption by 2030. He was a key figure in the ruling coalition when the newly elected government faced an energy crisis in 2022 caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine, and sought to find alternatives to Russian energy supplies while protecting citizens and companies from skyrocketing prices. Mr Graichen had also “revitalised the energy transition and steered the government's climate measures,” said Minister R. Habeck. He added that Mr Graichen “...has done the country a great service. Through his firm commitment, he has protected Germany from a gas shortage and played a crucial role in averting an economic crisis.”
This decision will be “very significant” for the ministry and “very difficult for me personally,” continued R. Habeck. He stressed that the level of public accusations against Patrick Graichen “has significantly exceeded the legitimate”. Mr Graichen and his family had become targets of threats from far-right and pro-Russian activists, while many commentators framed these claims within the context of broader criticism of government policy.
This decision deals a blow to Minister Habeck’s energy transition plans, as Mr Graichen had helped draft several laws aimed at accelerating decarbonisation, many of which were decided upon last year. In his previous role as head of the energy policy think tank Agora Energiewende, Mr Graichen had worked on various energy transition issues. Some of the think tank’s concepts were later adopted for implementation in government policy. Among them was the now-controversial proposal to ban fossil fuel heating systems, which drew serious criticism from both the opposition and many citizens due to the unclear costs to homeowners.
Kerstina Andreae, head of the energy industry association BDEW and a member of the Green Party, said the government has lost an “internationally highly recognised energy transition expert”. However, she warned that the departure of one important person must not hinder progress overall. “Nevertheless, the addressing of the many important tasks and issues of the energy transition must not be delayed,” noted K. Andreae.
Minister Habeck announced that he would begin the search for a new state secretary for energy immediately. A replacement should be found “as soon as possible” so that the most important policy projects can continue to be implemented before the parliamentary summer break, which begins on 1 July. Mr Habeck added that, as a result of this case, the ministry’s selection process compliance rules will be tightened. This would include the need to actively investigate potential private links of government-nominated job candidates.
This decision was made just days after the Green Party suffered its worst result in over twenty years in regional elections in the northern state of Bremen. The Greens' popularity also suffered in national polls over the course of this affair.