The future climate protection and economics minister Robert Habeck (Greens) appoints four permanent state secretaries to his newly tailored ministry.

Their qualifications predestine them for different responsibilities.

As a kind of head of office, the former member of the Bundestag and Hamburg Senator Anja Hajduk is supposed to coordinate the work in Habeck's super ministry.

Werner Mussler

Business correspondent in Brussels.

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Patrick Graichen, previously managing director of the Agora Energiewende think tank, should be responsible for climate protection.

Udo Philipp, State Secretary in the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Finance since 2019, already knows his future workplace from the inside, he worked there from 1993 to 1995 as a personal advisor to the then Minister Günter Rexrodt (FDP).

Philipp then switched to the private sector and was most recently a senior partner at the private equity fund EQT.

After his departure in 2015, he founded the citizens' movement Finanzwende together with the Green finance expert Gerhard Schick.

Giegold's appointment to the ministry comes as a surprise

Also on board at the time was Sven Giegold, whose appointment to Habeck's ministry came as a mild surprise.

Giegold, who co-founded the non-governmental organization Attac in Germany in 2000, has been a member of the European Parliament since 2009.

As the economic policy spokesman for his parliamentary group, the 52-year-old can be seen as an economic expert for the Greens, and that is how he sees himself.

On every topic, from tax policy to climate protection to EU constitutional issues, Giegold always had and still has clearly articulated (and technically sound) opinions, which he expressed when asked and without being asked.

"He was a loudspeaker, and there aren't that many of them in the European Parliament," teased his previous parliamentary opponent Markus Ferber (CSU) - to add that he very much regretted Giegold's departure to Berlin.

“He teased me a lot, and I must have annoyed him too.

But when it came to topics that were important to both of us, we were always able to work together trustingly. ”What is certain is that Giegold, who studied economics with a Protestant work ethic, left a large gap in Brussels.

In his own faction he allowed little competition, so that there is no natural successor.

There are doubts that Giegold can handle his new role

And in Berlin?

Ferber doubts that Giegold will find his way around well in his new role.

“So far he has made a living from being able to express himself competently on a large number of issues and without any party-political considerations.

Now he has to find his way into a hierarchy in which he doesn't have too much to say. ”Indeed, Giegold will depend on Habeck in the future - but maybe the other way round.

Because it is clear that the new minister with Giegold and Philipp will bring general economic policy, but even more financial policy competence into the house.

The assumption is that Habeck installed the two in the ministry in order to be professionally equipped for possible conflicts with the finance ministry led by Christian Lindner.