In other words, the ban on gas boilers put the Green Party in crisis.

From the idol of the greens to the main suspect of the growth of energy costs. during the transition greens With slow progress and serious delays in Europe, Robert Habeck’s popularity has gone from one extreme to the other. Germany’s vice-chancellor and economy minister topped popularity polls last spring and summer, despite the energy crisis brought on by the war in Ukraine and Berlin’s need to break free from its dependence on Russian gas. Then descend into hell with a series of options the Germans disliked, such as the gas tax (later abandoned) and, above all, the imposition of installing heat pumps instead of new gas systems to heat homes and offices. Finally, a nepotism scandal that his compatriots didn’t appreciate. Habeck’s collapse is not just a German story, but a symptom at the European level of how complex it is to enact radical and swift legislation to stop the galloping and extreme climate change. In short, the urgency of the transition contrasts with the delicate political balance and the sensitivity of citizens who feel that the cost of such profound and sudden changes is more theirs than the planet’s rich.

Dive into surveys

With a direct and authentic style of communication, Habeck had conquered the Germans, raided a constituency determined to protect the environment and orphaned by the charisma of former Chancellor Angela Merkel. In less than a year, half the population wants him to resign, according to a recent poll. The ax generally fell on the Green party, which will take a narrow 14% at the polls today, against an excellent 23% last summer, according to the average of national polls analyzed by Politico’s Poll of Polls. What caused the collapse? Habeck, seen by some media as the “true chancellor” to replace the social democrat Olaf Scholz, embodied “punitive” norms against citizens.

Unwanted taxes

Initially, he proposed a special “gas tax”, effectively taxing consumers, aimed at supporting energy suppliers that are in trouble due to strained relations with Russia. Strong criticism of household overload and potential technical flaws prompted Berlin to abandon its intentions and instead launch a special energy fund worth 200 billion euros. Although initially initiated by the entire government, it was Habeck who actually paid the price for this failure.

pumping out discontent

For the economy minister, the real collapse coincided with the heating law. At the beginning of the spring, the law banned new gas and oil heating systems in buildings from 2024, with few exceptions. its installation can cost about 20 thousand euros more than gas heating. The operation was aimed at reducing Germany’s dependence on fossil fuels, as most of the gas comes from companies affiliated with Vladimir Putin. Although long-term savings were expected and the Greens demanded government subsidies for new factories, citizens interpreted the move as too harsh and too burdensome. The opposition used this situation to discredit the entire Green party.

Overspeed

So far, even within his political structure, Habeck is seen as the scapegoat that must be sacrificed to make a comeback in election approval. “Even though it may seem paradoxical in light of climate change, it didn’t go well for him and it was going too fast,” Baden-Württemberg’s green minister-president Winfried Kretschmann told the German weekly Zeit. At the heart of the matter is not only Habeck’s reputation, but also the firmness of the red-green government. The government crisis is constantly knocking on the door, as the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP), the third partner of the German coalition, exploits the failures of the Minister of Economy to strengthen its political profile.

cliff escape

However, it is the extreme right embodied by the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which reached 18% in the polls, benefiting from disapproval of the government’s energy policy that really benefits from the compactness of the executive. thus overtaking the Greens as the third political force in the country. AfD officials are among the leading deniers of climate change and its associated threats. The whole situation poses a bad business card at the European Union level, where the executive led by conservative Ursula von der Leyen is trying to complete a series of environmental reforms. However, the centre-right European People’s Party, of which he belongs, is leaving the party, withdrawing its approval on a number of bills to protect the environment. Close to the election, no one intends to fall into the unpopularity abyss at the expense of climate damage.