Germany’s Habeck under pressure amid accusations of cronyism

BERLIN — Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck faces growing pressure following accusations of cronyism that could force his ministry’s top climate official to resign, undermine trust in his Greens party and torpedo his ambitions of securing the chancellorship.

The allegations center around Patrick Graichen, a top state secretary in charge of energy and climate issues in Habeck’s ministry, whose family connections within the ministry were first reported in late 2021. At the time, the ministry insisted safeguards would be put in place to avoid conflicts of interest.

Amid growing scrutiny, the ministry earlier this week released a statement admitting that Graichen had been part of a three-person committee to select the new head of Germany’s energy agency Dena and failed to declare a conflict of interest: The chosen candidate, former Green lawmaker and energy consultant Michael Schäfer, was the best man at Graichen’s wedding.

The revelations prompted immediate criticism both from the opposition and within the ruling coalition — made up of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) — with critics calling on Habeck to take urgent action.

The uproar comes at a bad time for Habeck, who has lost considerable support in recent months over controversial energy policy measures — including a costly phase out of gas and oil heating systems — while his internal party rival for the chancellor post in 2025, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is on the rise.

"The recommendation of one’s own best man for a management position is an overstepping of boundaries that lacks all tact," said Michael Kruse, the FDP’s energy policy spokesperson. "The limit has been exceeded. State secretaries must be above any suspicion of accepting advantages. Robert Habeck must quickly clarify these facts and explain how he intends to regain lost trust."

The FDP’s economy ministry spokesperson Reinhard Houben even appeared to indirectly back the opposition’s calls for Graichen to be dismissed, telling public broadcaster ZDF: "The problem is serious, and [Habeck] has the authority over personnel and must solve the problem."

Lawmaker Gitta Connemann from the center-right CDU/CSU opposition bloc suggested that her party might push for setting up a parliamentary investigative committee to look into the affair: "If Graichen cannot refute the allegations of nepotism at the meeting of the relevant economic committee, an investigative committee is the next logical step," she told POLITICO. "Full transparency is needed now."

A ‘high price’

So far, Habeck has backed his state secretary against mounting calls for his resignation, stressing the key role Graichen played in swiftly weaning Germany off of its fatal dependency on Russian energy imports and in the green energy transition.

"Without the consistent approach of Patrick Graichen, Germany would be in a severe economic crisis today," Habeck told German weekly FAS on Sunday.

He also said that Graichen is "paying a high public price" for his misconduct.

Graichen called his involvement in appointing Schäfer for the energy agency leadership a "mistake," and the economy ministry has said it will review the job selection procedure and assess whether it should be reopened.

Whether Habeck will continue to stand by Graichen remains to be seen, given the state secretary’s obvious compliance failures and high-profile role. The affair is also particularly embarrassing for the Greens as they’ve insisted that they prize transparency and frequently scolded other parties mismanaging conflicts of interest.

The latest revelations add to an already long list of connections that are making the opposition uneasy.

Graichen’s siblings Verena and Jakob work at an environmental research institution that receives contracts from the government; Verena is also married to another economy ministry state secretary, Michael Kellner.

In recent days, German media also reported that Verena sits on a National Hydrogen Council that advises ministries on hydrogen as a new source of energy — and that Graichen is responsible for reviewing and potentially implementing the council’s proposals.

Questions are also being raised about Rainer Baake, a former economy ministry state secretary who is now head of the Agora energy think tank — a post held by Graichen before he took on his high-level job at Habeck’s ministry. Baake was appointed as the ministry’s special envoy for energy and climate cooperation with Kenya last year. It remains unclear whether Graichen played a role in the appointment.

Ultimately, Graichen’s future as state secretary may depend on how long the political controversy drags on — and how problematic it becomes for his boss Habeck and the Green party, which is currently campaigning ahead of state elections in Bremen on May 14.

Gabriel Rinaldi contributed reporting.