In a recent episode of the ARD talk show “Maischberger”, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock surprised the audience with her statements on her leadership role in the Green Party and her position as the top candidate. The Minister emphasized her authority alongside Economics and Climate Minister Robert Habeck, even in the face of criticism from the party’s youth wing, the Young Greens. The online portal t-online quotes Baerbock as saying, “We are the top candidates and we lead our party.”
Sabotage Accusation Against Moscow
During her appearance on “Maischberger”, the Foreign Minister attributed her failure as a chancellor candidate in 2021 to external interference. As she had good prospects and poll numbers in the 2021 election campaign, she was confronted with attacks of a “completely different dimension”. The Minister claimed that the Russian secret service had already intervened in the German election campaign in 2021, a claim that was allegedly confirmed “looking back”.
Baerbock justified the alleged Russian interference in the German election campaign, stating that she was the only one who had warned of the gas pipeline from Russia to Germany not being just an economic project.
This view was, according to Baerbock, shared by Olaf Scholz and Armin Laschet. The Minister added, “And there was a strong counterwind at the time, when some thought a green chancellor could be possible and that was quite strong.”
Unusual View of Reality
Despite doubts about Baerbock’s qualifications emerging four years ago, the Green Party confirmed her as the top candidate in June 2021 with over 98% of the vote. Two years earlier, Baerbock had already made a name for herself with one of her many promises, when she spoke about batteries and cobalt in an ARD summer interview, but referred to “Kobolts” instead of “Kobalt” – a term that sounded like “Kobolds”.
Before the 2021 elections, it was revealed that Baerbock had plagiarized over a hundred times in her own book, without acknowledging the sources. Additionally, the “plagiarism hunter” Stefan Weber found further 38 plagiarized passages in her speeches since 2008.
For ongoing entertainment and surprise, the revelations about Baerbock’s academic background and the multiple “adjusted” versions of her official life story were a source of amusement in 2021. For example, Baerbock had presented herself as a “public international lawyer” against Habeck, but had to apologize multiple times for the inaccuracies and errors in her CV.
Furthermore, Baerbock faced political education gaps, such as attributing the concept of social market economy to the SPD. She was also not spared from scandals, as she had to report “special payments” of several tens of thousands of euros to the Bundestag in the spring of 2021. The financial irregularities were based on payments to the party as compensation for her function as party chairperson. Baerbock and Habeck had been at the helm of the Greens since the beginning of 2018.
Green Party Tradition: Habeck Under Pressure as Well
In the current election campaign, the current top candidate of the Greens, Economics Minister Robert Habeck, is not only under fire due to his political decisions. Habeck’s sanctions policy against Russia led to crisis situations. The exit from nuclear energy, which Habeck had driven forward in 2022, was not based on an open examination of the facts, as research by the press and an inquiry committee of the Bundestag have shown, but was politically and ideologically motivated.
Habeck’s term in office has been repeatedly shaken by scandals – the “Graichen-Clan” affair, the Causa Elga Bartsch, to name a few, as well as the Heizgesetz, which, according to Habeck’s own statement, was only a “test”.
Furthermore, in recent weeks, the “Gelbhaar-Habeck-Scandal” has emerged, in which Habeck and his campaign manager Andreas Audretsch have played a more than dubious role.
Like Baerbock in 2021, Habeck is now facing accusations of not upholding scientific standards in his dissertation, with over a hundred alleged plagiarized passages. Despite this, the Green Party politician still enjoys significant support from the mass media.