The energy crisis looming in Germany requires deep cuts in many areas. Agriculture Minister Özdemir blames the "catastrophic" policies of the previous government. Their mistakes must be addressed, he demands.
Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir sharply blames the former federal government for the energy crisis. "We inherited a catastrophic situation, a disaster," said the Green politician in Munich on the energy policy of the former black-red coalition under Chancellor Angela Merkel of the CDU.
"I didn't think it was a good idea either that we get 60 percent of the gas from a criminal named Vladimir Putin," Özdemir said at a panel discussion at the Interforst trade fair. The Greens politician called for a discussion about mistakes made by the previous government: "Please let us work through what has been done in Germany in recent years."
Özdemir did not explicitly mention Merkel or the SPD. The minister also indirectly criticized the CSU: "I didn't deliberately sabotage renewable energies either, I didn't decide on wind distance areas either." This referred to the fact that the Bavarian state government under the former Prime Minister Horst Seehofer of the CSU had largely brought the construction of wind turbines in Bavaria to a standstill by tightening building regulations.
"I would be ashamed if I handed over the country in this state - it wasn't just Bavaria - like that," said the minister. The current federal government must now roll up its sleeves in order to reduce "I would almost say criminal dependence on criminals in the world". "I don't want Putin to decide here whether we have enough energy or not," Özdemir said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
