Robert Habeck opened the OMR festival in Hamburg. The Vice Chancellor and Economics Minister warns against populism and calls for a more positive narrative – because anything else would lead to the opposite.
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At 10:40 a.m. Robert Habeck was already so excited that presenter Markus Lanz was worried about his health. “Mr. Habeck, please pay attention to your blood pressure,” he threw at the Federal Minister of Economics, who made several fiery speeches at the opening of the OMR festival: for freedom, against populism and for a new – a positive narrative of history.
Habeck was the opening speaker at the OMR Festival in Hamburg, which also includes the Finance Forward Conference. Unlike in many German cities, Habeck received an extremely friendly welcome there. Almost 7,000 people honored Habeck’s words with long applause and, in some cases, a standing ovation. “The morning was worth it for me,” said Habeck in an interview with OMR founder Philipp Westermeyer.
“Our freedom is in danger”
In his speech, the Economics Minister warned right at the beginning: “I won’t give you much joy now,” said Habeck, and started with a global problem analysis – from right-wing radicalism to Russia to climate protection. Ultimately, however, this always leads to the same problem, says Habeck: “Our freedom is in danger.”
Habeck brought the solution with him to Hamburg. In short, it’s about a positive narrative – more stories about success instead of failure. The Building Energy Act (GEG) serves as a good example of this. “We did a lot of things well – solar is going through the roof, wind power is close to the goal, we didn’t have to freeze in the winter of 2022. But the discourse is only about the one time when it went wrong.” Ultimately, this clinging to failure only plays into the hands of the populists. “If the discourse is only geared towards failure, we will fail. It’s like in football: I don’t need to compete if I keep telling myself how strong the opponent is.”
Habeck admits mistakes
In the subsequent conversation with Markus Lanz, Habeck also admitted that he had thought about this question for a long time. For example, why he was met with such hatred at the GEG. Habeck said he could only explain this by saying that for a long time he was too focused on saving fossil fuels in order to solve the gas shortage. He overlooked how this overwhelmed people.
Basically, he is positive about the future, said Habeck. “Yes, the times are challenging. But we can definitely solve the problems; we have every opportunity to do so.”
This text is part of the reporting on the , which takes place in Hamburg on May 7th and 8th. Finance Forward is the magazine for the new financial world, created in cooperation between Capital and OMR.
Source: Stern
