Katherina Reiche wants to slow down the energy transition with new gas power plants!

Katherina Reiche wants to slow down the energy transition with new gas power plants!

Germany's new economics minister, Katherina Reiche from the CDU, aims to have new gas power plants built “as quickly as possible”. This announcement represents a significant change in direction in German energy policy, especially compared to the efforts of her predecessor Robert Habeck of the Green Party, who promoted a comprehensive energy transition and the phase-out of Russian gas. Katherina Reiche also plans to comprehensively reorganize her ministry in order to realize her vision. This strategy is supported by parts of the conservative business elite, who have put pressure on the government to put the brakes on the transformation of the energy supply.

Reiche commented on her new policy during the Ludwig Erhard Summit, which took place at Tegernsee. This summit, which was held for the eleventh time, provided the framework in which it was able to present its economic plans without much opposition. In her speech, she referred to her many years of participation in these summits and said with a smile that if you hold out eleven times you will become economics minister.

Economic order in transition

According to reports, criticism of Robert Habeck could not be avoided at the summit. Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder described Habeck as the "worst economics minister of all time" and pointed to worrying economic data recorded during his time in office. Katherina Reiche still took the time to praise Habeck's achievements during the energy crisis before initiating her own turnaround in economic and energy policy.

The discussion about future energy policy reflects that there is currently a deep rift in Germany between the Greens, who are committed to renewable energies, and the conservative forces, who prefer to rely on fossil energies. The new minister appears determined to change course and implement the gas power plants demanded by the conservative economic wing, which could permanently change the country's energy strategy.

Overall, it will be exciting to see how the new economics minister's plans can be implemented in practice and what resistance she will encounter in politics and in public. The Ludwig Erhard summit definitely gave her a platform to clearly formulate her political ambitions.