Robert Habeck and Winfried Kretschmann (both Bündnis90/Die Grünen)
Source: picture alliance/dpa
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) has defended the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court to stop the vote on the heating law in the Bundestag.
“Parliamentary democracy is based on legitimacy through procedures. Shortening deadlines must be the absolute exception,” said Kretschmann of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper (FAS). “We saw too many times in the Bundesrat under the old federal government that the exception became the rule. In this respect, I welcomed the strengthening of the procedures.” Kretschmann added that it was also not a “disaster” for the traffic light coalition if a court saw something differently from the government. “That is the deeper meaning of the separation of powers, that courts have the last word.”
Kretschmann went on to say that the “back and forth on the heating law and the partly exaggerated debate” had contributed to the uncertainty of the population. “But the situation is also very difficult for politicians, and I often lack this understanding of the complexity of things, despite all the justified criticism.”
Climate change creates “immense pressure”: “If we are too slow, we reach tipping points and can no longer change anything. If we go too fast, we lose the approval of an insecure population. Finding the right balance is very difficult.”
Habeck deserves “recognition and respect”
In the conversation, Kretschmann also expressly praised Economics Minister Robert Habeck for his course. “In crises, and we are currently in the most difficult of the post-war period, you have to take risks. That’s what Robert Habeck does, and for that he deserves recognition and respect.” Kretschmann added that, in his view, “nothing better could happen to the republic” than to have politicians like Habeck.
Regarding the widespread complaint that many things are progressing slowly in Germany, above all the reduction in bureaucracy or the upgrading of the infrastructure, Kretschmann said: “I can understand the frustration of many citizens one-to-one because I am the first person affected by the bureaucracy. Sometimes I ask myself what I can actually do as Prime Minister, I am so surrounded by all the regulations and laws that we have piled up in 70 years of democracy.”
The country cannot continue like this, according to Kretschmann in the “FAS”. During the construction of the liquid gas terminals, one saw “how quickly and pragmatically” politics can act. “This ‘Germany speed’ must become the standard in the future, we must radically question the way and the depth to which we regulate.”
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