Green Party’s Robert Habeck Criticizes the Government’s Handling of the Economic Crisis
In a podcast interview with T-Online, Robert Habeck, the Green Party’s candidate for Chancellor, criticized the government’s handling of the economic crisis, calling it a mistake. When asked about his role as Economy Minister in addressing the crisis, Habeck said, “Not enough was done to get out of the crisis because the opportunities weren’t there.” He described this as “one of the mistakes of the coalition government in hindsight.”
Habeck acknowledged that the war in Ukraine was an unforeseen factor, but emphasized that he had predicted the economic consequences of the war from the start. “I said at the beginning of the war that this conflict would make us poorer. It wasn’t just a passing remark” he said. “But nothing or not enough was done in response.” In hindsight, Habeck believes that the government should have reacted to the economic weakness with a stimulus package, as is typical in times of crisis.
Habeck also expressed his view that the coalition government was a missed opportunity. “I will always remember the coalition as a missed chance” he said. “One has to be honest and admit that this government eventually ran out of steam. Nobody wanted to follow us anymore, and we couldn’t even stand each other anymore.”
However, Habeck also acknowledged the coalition’s initial approach, which he believed was correct in principle. “The idea that an ecological, liberal, and social democratic party, that social balance, ecological renewal, and a liberal rule of law could work well together, was actually a correct recognition. But then it was just badly implemented” he said.