Andreas Scheuer failed.

It's a miracle he's still in office at all.

The most unpopular minister in the cabinet is a wrong choice, he just screwed up a lot of crap and would rather open new motorway junctions than deal with the climate catastrophe.

In the past few weeks, politicians and journalists have judged the outgoing CSU transport minister in this way or in a similar way. And as always, when scorn and mockery are poured out in buckets, things are actually more complicated. Yes, the Minister of Transport's balance sheet has not only scratches, but also several deep dents that can no longer be repaired. But Scheuer does not leave a total loss if he is supposed to leave the ministry after the federal election.

Dent number one is the “foreigner toll”, a project initiated by Scheuer that was legally slowed down and is likely to cost German taxpayers hundreds of millions of euros.

Right from the start, the toll was a fiasco for drivers.

Right from the start one had to wonder why the toll did not have any ecological steering effect, according to the motto: If you drive more, you also have to pay more.

When the minister also wanted to compensate all German drivers in terms of taxes so that only French, Poles and other foreigners would be asked to pay, the matter was clear in the eyes of most lawyers: you can't do it that way.

Unfortunate role on the Committee of Inquiry

Scheuer was not deterred. Despite the warnings, he signed contracts with toll operators without fallback options at the end of 2018, which fell on his feet six months later after a CJEU ruling. Scheuer ended up in front of an investigative committee of the Bundestag, which he survived politically. It remains to be seen whether the toll operators will actually be awarded the 560 million euros they are demanding. One thing is certain: The man from Bavaria, who referred to gaps in memory in the committee, has initially disqualified himself for other top positions. Especially since he still asserts that he would “make the same decision again”.

Dent number two is less visible, but no less significant.

Scheuer will leave the ministry after twelve years of CSU rule - Peter Ramsauer and Alexander Dobrindt were at the wheel in front of him - with a pathetic climate balance.

As industry becomes more and more efficient, greenhouse gas emissions from transport have increased in recent years.

Today they make up a fifth of total emissions.

The Minister of Transport has never given the impression that this really worries him.

This fits in with his latest election campaign demand to politically limit the rise in gasoline prices due to a CO2 tax.

Of course, a transport minister also has to defend the interests of motorists.

When it comes to climate protection as a joint venture, however, it cannot be that such an important area falls out of line.

A fresh start for transport policy is necessary

There are other things to criticize, for example the broken traffic law reform.

But it would not do Scheuer justice if one were to conceal the fact that he brought 88 laws and ordinances through the Bundestag and thus also moved a lot in the right direction: More money is flowing into the rail and public transport infrastructure, which is the prerequisite for better deals and less traffic jams.

The “Deutschlandtakt”, ie better coordinated timetables, has at least started.

The same applies to the expansion of the charging network for electric cars, which is funded by the ministry.

In addition, Scheuer scored where you might least expect it: Cyclist lobbyists praise the minister for doing more for them than his predecessors. The representatives of the transport companies that operate buses and trains in cities and in the countryside also felt that they were in good hands with Scheuer. Last but not least, Scheuer has also succeeded in reforming the Passenger Transport Act, which at least somewhat liberalizes the taxi market and enables transport service providers such as Uber to become competitors.

The bottom line, however, is that transport policy needs a fresh start. Too much has fallen by the wayside or, like the growing number of e-cars, has simply been bought at a high price. The next minister has to do two things above all: Firstly, he or she has to develop a coherent concept of how the traffic of the future should look beyond individual projects. Second, planning processes must finally really be accelerated. Without that all is nothing.