Election diary, Nov 25th-29th

heat pump

Dear Reader,

This week’s newsletter is on heat pumps, gas sabotage, self-sabotage and deep fakes.

Monday, November 25th

Along with the decision to overhaul the dole system and replace it with Bürgergeld, the ban on gas heating installations was the Scholz government’s flagship - and most controversial - piece of legislation.

Accused by critics of a Stasi-like attempt to peer into people’s cellars, the government only managed to pass the bill after months of damaging rows and leaks. The bill that eventually passed the Bundestag was watered down considerably from the first draft, yet the fundamental deadline remained unchanged: by 2045, all German homes would have to be heated with at least 65 percent renewable energy.

For the law’s author, climate minister Robert Habeck (Greens), the law was a critical step on the road to net zero. For critics, it was written up without regard for technical feasibility and ignored the costs that would be imposed on poorer households.

This week, it seemed like no one wanted to take responsibility for the law anymore.

On Monday, the Free Democrats became the first former coalition member to wash their hands of it, calling it a “bureaucratic monster” that “has to be abolished.”

Then, housing minister Klara Geywitz of the Social Democrats (SPD) said it would need “fundamental reform” and that “neither civil engineers nor homeowners can understand the small print.”

Geywitz has overseen a ministry that had set a target for 400,000 new homes every year. Instead, thanks to regulations like the heating law and a rise in building costs due to the Ukraine war, home construction has slumped.

Meanwhile, Habeck has pointed the finger at the SPD over the fact that the first draft of the law didn’t include financial aid for poorer households. He said he was “astonished,” that the SPD didn’t support financial aid, claiming that he had wanted it all along.

The SPD quickly snapped back that Habeck had come up with a law that was “completely chaotic” and which was “saved by the SPD during parliamentary consultations.”

Rats and sacks. Rats and sacks.