Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice chancellor and economic affairs and climate protection minister, took to social media on Friday afternoon to announce what everyone had long been expecting: He is throwing his hat in the ring to be his Green Party’s top candidate in the next federal election.
Following the collapse of the three-way government of center-left Social Democrats, the Greens and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) this week, fresh elections will most likely be held in March.
Habeck’s candidacy depends on party delegates’ approval at the conference scheduled for mid-November. But all observers agree that nothing and nobody will stand in his way.
It’s been a tough week
Habeck is unlikely to become chancellor — the job traditionally goes to the leader of the strongest party, which is likely to be the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The Greens are currently polling between 9% and 11% of the vote.
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Habeck announced his ambitions at the end of a week unlike any other in Berlin. On Wednesday morning it was clear that Donald Trump would be the next US president — the first piece of bad news for the government, which had backed Democrat Kamala Harris.
And then, late in the evening, the government coalition to which Habeck belongs collapsed. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) following a long and increasingly bitter dispute over taxes and economic issues that made it impossible to agree on a budget for 2025.
Since then, Habeck has found himself in a minority government of the SPD and Greens, alongside Scholz. He now has little political influence, which does not bode well.
Habeck returns to X
To prove that he is serious about pursuing the position, Habeck has made a return to the messaging platform X after a long break. In 2019, when he was still chairman of the Greens, Habeck publicly withdrew from the Twitter, as X was then still called. At the time, rumors about his private life were circulating on social media and Habeck deleted his accounts.
Now, almost six years later, he wrote on X: “It’s easy to leave places like this to the ranters and populists. But taking the easy way out can’t be the solution. Not today. Not this week.” There is also a short video with the caption: “From here on, everything is different.” Habeck is seen wearing a bracelet that reads “Chancellor Era.”
Merz makes fun of Habeck
Habeck wants to continue to fight for climate protection, for the restructuring of the economy and for paying out high state subsidies. In other words, for the core issues of the Green party platform.
He is not popular with the left wing of his party, which has been incredulous at his approval of measures to tighten asylum and immigration policy.
For the Green Party, options for government participation at the national level are few and far between: The conservative CDU and the allied Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), which are leading in the polls, have long attacked and ridiculed the Greens and their leader.
On Friday, CDU chairman Friedrich Merz, who has a good chance of becoming the next German chancellor, had nothing but scorn and derision for Habeck’s candidacy. “The self-declaration as chancellor candidate with 9% voter approval certainly has an amusing side to it,” Merz told journalists with a smug smile.
Voters blame Greens
Habeck had a very favorable image with voters at the beginning of his term in office. His approval ratings were much higher than those of the taciturn Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Following the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, it was Habeck who found simple and heartfelt words to explain the impact of rising energy prices and inflation to the German people.
But, soon afterward, the government’s ongoing dispute over almost all of the important issues began. Now, according to a recent survey by pollster infratest dimap, 59% of voters welcome the end of the coalition, for which 40% blame the Finance Minister. However, 26% blame the Greens.
Habeck says he wants to look ahead now and is sticking demonstratively to his travel plans. At the beginning of next week, he will be attending the Web Summit in Lisbon — an event that is regarded as the world’s leading technology conference. This is intended as a show of determination, even if it is extremely unlikely that Habeck’s ambitions to head Germany’s next government will be successful.
This article was originally written in German.
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