Accusations of cronyism against the German Green Party have surfaced after a top-level official, also believed to be the architect behind the country’s austere ‘green transition,’ was revealed to have awarded state contracts to family members and other close associates.
Secretary for Climate Affairs Dr. Patrick Graichen is alleged to have granted government contracts to a research institute run by multiple members of his family as well as appointing his best man to head the German Energy Agency. A growing number of voices are now calling for the secretary to resign.
Dr. Graichen is a chief advisor to Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck. The scandal is fueling claims of an incestuous relationship between the German state and climate NGOs.
The German Green Party entered a coalition in 2021 with the Social Democrats and have spearheaded the decarbonisation of the German economy despite current energy woes. The Greens were heavily criticised for helping to mothball the remaining German nuclear power reactors last month with Dr. Graichen, the former managing director of the Agora Energiewende think tank, by some believed to have a covert hand in writing state policy.
German tabloids first raised the nepotism claims almost as soon as Dr. Graichen was appointed to his current role with the so-called extended ‘Graichen clan’ already earning a notorious reputation for dominating the boards of the nation’s Green lobby.
In May, further accusations emerged suggesting that Dr. Graichen influenced the awarding of state contracts to close political associates. The scandal was cited as evidence of the Green Party’s colonisation of policymaking institutions using a network of political appointees.
German populists the AfD have cited the debacle as indicative of the Green Party’s double standards, given the Greens’ hardline stance against corruption when it comes to rule of law allegations against Poland and Hungary.
Vice-Chancellor Habeck has so far defended his employee against the allegations, saying it was merely an oversight on Dr. Graichen’s part. Particular ire was generated when Dr. Graichen claimed that he overlooked the fact his choice of new director of the German energy agency was his best man.
During his tenure as Germany’s chief climate guru, Dr. Graichen has pursued catastrophic anti-carbon policies which have contributed to spiralling costs and fears of deindustrialisation in what was once a European industrial powerhouse. Dr. Greichen remaining in his position despite the scandal may serve as food for thought for freezing German taxpayers come next winter.
