Kretschmann saves energy: "Washcloths are a useful invention"

He's not the first Green to publicly reveal his behavior in the bathroom.

Kretschmann saves energy: "Washcloths are a useful invention"

He's not the first Green to publicly reveal his behavior in the bathroom. But Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Kretschmann is also particularly economical. "Even the washcloth is a useful invention," he says - and puts Habeck in the shade with it.

In times of gas shortages and rising prices, Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann sees himself on the right track as an energy saver. "I have an electric car, I have a huge photovoltaic system on the roof," said the Green politician of the "Südwest Presse". He has been heating 70 percent of his water with solar energy for 25 years, and he has also ordered a pellet heating system.

Kretschmann's tip: "We usually only heat one room," he said. "It's also healthier if you don't have the same temperature everywhere in the house." Also, you don't have to shower all the time. "The washcloth is also a useful invention," advised Kretschmann.

However, the Green politician has identified a weak point: "I still have room for improvement when it comes to reducing meat consumption."

Other Green politicians had recently given information about their habits in the bathroom. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck told the "Spiegel" in June that he had already started implementing his ministry's energy-saving recommendations.

Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, he has taken shorter showers, he told Der Spiegel. "I stick to what my ministry recommends. I've significantly reduced my shower time again," he replied when asked how he saved energy in everyday life. "I've never showered for five minutes in my life. I shower quickly," the Vice Chancellor continued.

Berlin's environment senator Bettina Jarasch from the Greens said only this week during a visit to the city's waterworks: "I'm coming out now: I only wash my cat in the morning." But she didn't mean the washcloth, but that she showered in super fast gear. "As short as possible." On the one hand, because the topic of saving water moves her as an environmental senator, but also "for time-saving reasons" in the family.