Who is German Economy Minister Robert Habeck?

Robert Habeck has thrown his hat into the ring to become the top candidate for the  Green Party in the upcoming federal  election.

Even though he is expected to be endorsed by his party, Habeck is unlikely to become chancellor — the job traditionally goes to the leader of the strongest party, which is likely to be the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The Greens are currently polling at between 9% and 11% of the vote.

Habeck announced his bid on social media on November 8.

Habeck wants to continue to fight for climate protection, for the restructuring of the economy and for high state subsidies. In other words, for the core issues of the Green Party platform. He is not popular with the left wing of his party, which has been incredulous at his approval of measures to tighten asylum and immigration policy.

The conservative CDU and the allied Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), which are leading in the polls, have long attacked and ridiculed the Greens and their leader. CDU chairman Friedrich Merz, who has a good chance of becoming the next German chancellor, had nothing but scorn and derision for Habeck's candidacy.

"The self-declaration as chancellor candidate with 9% voter approval certainly has an amusing side to it," Merz told journalists with a smug smile on Friday.

A history of ambition

Habeck had a very favorable image with voters at the beginning of his term in office in 2021, with approval ratings much higher than those of the taciturn Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Following the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, it was Habeck who found simple and heartfelt words to explain the impact of rising energy prices and inflation to the German people.

Soon, however, the government's ongoing dispute over almost all of the important issues began. Now, Habeck has said he wants to look ahead.

When Habeck announced Annalena Baerbock would be the Green Party candidate for chancellor for the 2021 general election, he was applauded for standing aside. He stood by Baerbock throughout her rocky campaign and sat through countless interviews where he was asked whether he would not have been the better candidate.

Since the last federal election, Habeck has come to the forefront and taken on a pivotal role. He has forcefully taken on Brussels for its plans to label nuclear energy as "green."

Indeed, Habeck has been extremely popular throughout his political career. Author and translator, politician, and philosopher — with his tousled and unshaven look, he has always seemed relaxed and approachable.

Latecomer to politics

Habeck was in his early 30s when he joined the environmentalist Green Party in 2002. At that time, the Greens were junior partners to the Social Democrats in the German government. That coalition was ousted from power in 2005 at the beginning of what would come to be known as the Merkel era.

Before entering politics, Habeck looked destined for an academic career. He initially studied philosophy, German language and literature and philology before earning a master's degree in 1996 and being awarded his doctorate in 2000. He also spent a year at Denmark's Roskilde University, where he picked up fluent Danish.

People are often dazzled by his conversational grasp of philosophical matters. But there are others who are driven to distraction by what they see as his philosophical flippancy: his habit, for instance, of tossing quotes by great thinkers into a discussion.

Habeck initially earned a living as a writer, co-authoring detective stories and children's books with his wife, Andrea Paluch. Together with their four sons, they live in Flensburg, in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Germany's northernmost city lies just 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Denmark, in a region that is home to a strong Danish-speaking minority.

'Bending in the wind'

Habeck's political career really got going in 2012 when he was appointed as Schleswig-Holstein's environment minister — a post he would hold for six years. During that time, he built a reputation as an easygoing, pragmatic Green politician who always had an ear for his SPD coalition partners, as well as for staunch conservatives in the farming community.

This gave the hands-on politician a platform for his efforts to push for a profound shift in Germany's energy policy. As a "windy state," Schleswig-Holstein is suited for wind power, and Habeck set for himself the tough task of winning people over to install giant wind turbines. And it seems he succeeded: From 2012 to 2016, the amount of wind energy generated in Schleswig-Holstein nearly doubled.

In 2017, the Greens in Schleswig-Holstein entered a new coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrat (CDU) and the neoliberal FDP. Habeck made the most of the alliance, becoming a close friend of Daniel Günther, the conservative leader of the coalition.

That he has been able to harmonize with people on the opposite side of the political spectrum has been taken as further evidence of Habeck's talent as a people person. This has, however, resulted in a limited backlash: some core Green voters have accused Habeck of bending too easily in the wind.

This article was originally written in German and was last updated on November 11, 2024 to reflect latest developments.

Correction, November 12, 2024: An earlier version of this article mistakenly identified Flensburg as the capital of Schleswig-Holstein. The capital is Kiel.

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