Economics Minister Robert Habeck and State Secretary Patrick Graichen on Wednesday in Berlin
Image: AP
Well then: Habeck dismisses his powerful Secretary of State. crisis over? Some Greens are optimistic. If the forests burn soon, the situation could look different again, they say.
There was talk of “unfortunate timing” in the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Wednesday. It’s the somewhat posh way of saying: things went silly. Because a week ago, Robert Habeck stood in front of Patrick Graichen in the committees in the Bundestag that he would not fire the man because of a mistake. At the time, people close to the Green Economics Minister said that no further points would arise that would burden the powerful State Secretary in the ministry.
Eckhart Lohse
Head of the parliamentary editorial office in Berlin.
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Markus Wehner
Political correspondent in Berlin.
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But on Wednesday morning, Habeck had to admit that things turned out differently. Graichen, who wanted to make his best man and best friend, Michael Schäfer, head of the German Energy Agency (DENA) and did not make the close personal connection public, had done even more things that make him vulnerable. They may not be legally contestable, but they could reinforce the appearance of nepotism.