In normal times, "Industry Day" is a somewhat tiresome compulsory exercise for chancellors, economics and finance ministers.

In a serious crisis, however, the main thing is to show solidarity.

President Putin's attack on Ukraine revealed the fatal dependence of the German economy on Russian oil and, above all, cheap gas.

Industrial companies not only have to cope with sharply rising energy costs, but also prepare themselves for not getting reliable energy for their production, even at the highest price.

This is also forcing the federal government to review its assumptions about the feasibility of the green transformation and to procure energy in a hurry, wherever it may come from – and possibly far beyond next winter.

This industry day was therefore characterized by the awareness that politics and business are particularly dependent on each other for the time being.

Industry president Russwurm promised the traffic light full support for the sanctions, admitted that the economy was to blame for the gas dependency and held back with new demands.

Chancellor Scholz retaliated with a full-bodied commitment to the industrial location and references to the first legal efforts to accelerate the expansion of renewables and to lower electricity prices.

However, the alliance was not entirely successful, and Scholz had to demand applause.

No wonder his government continues to give the impression that it is not doing everything it can to defuse the crisis.

Instead of allowing nuclear power plants to be used for longer, only the CO2-ejecting coal-fired power plants should be used for longer.

This fuels protests by climate protectors, whose disruptive actions are damaging the industry.

It is unclear how Scholz intends to keep the important promise of halving the planning and approval times.

Justified skepticism from companies also results from the fact that the traffic light itself now wants to tighten climate targets for the automotive industry and introduce more obligations for supply chains via the EU.

Scholz still has to earn the honest applause of the industry – in his own interest.

Only when the economy flourishes will there be enough money for his major social projects.