Leif-Erik Holm, November 13, 2025, De-industrialization and Energy

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 21/40, pp. 4554-4555. 

Frau President. Right honorable citizens. Ladies and gentlemen. 

Yesterday, the new economic opinion of the experts council came out. The council expects a growth of 0.9 percent in the coming year; once again a shrunken prognosis; initially, it was 1.3 percent. If we then adjust the whole for the holidays – in the next year, many holidays unfortunately fall on the weekends – then we are at only 0.6 percent. Thus sick man Germany slogs further on. Yet you here now want with this present hour to celebrate yourselves for your economic success. This success simply does not exist. 

I was this morning with the expert, Frau Professor Grimm. She put the naked numbers on the wall: The industrial production breaks down, and indeed on a broad front. In all sectors, it recedes. There is no reason to celebrate anything. Germany unfortunately is abolishing itself as an industrial country if it so continues. And you present no solutions. You only daub a bit of plaster, and administer the downfall – nothing more. 

            Nicklas Kappe (CDU/CSU): Which solutions do you have?

You want to speak in this present hour on your reliefs: On the lowering of the grid fees and the introduction of an industrial electricity price. Yes, in the near term we need to do something to get away from the dramatically high electricity prices. Only, why then don’t you do what benefits all businesses and budgets? Where remains the reduction of the electricity tax for all? That would be a correct step. 

This, what you are doing – I already said it last week – is “left pocket, right pocket”. I want to tell it again: The surcharge for the grid fees, 6.5 million euros, the taxpayer now pays; the costs of the industrial electricity prices, 1.5 billion euros, the taxpayer now pays; the costs for the EEG assessment, 16 billion euros, the taxpayer already pays; the electricity price compensation, 3 billion euros, will be paid by the taxpayer; and the gas storage assessment, 3 billion euros, the taxpayer pays. That is 30 billion euros. You hide the costs of the dead energy transition in the budget. It’s simply not noted that the entire climate racket doesn’t work. 

Without these billions in subventions, nothing more would be left of this seemingly pretty fairy tale castle. The budget meanwhile also correspondingly appears. Only by your special indebtedness can you still camouflage something. The problem remains: Energy is scarce and is much too expensive. Only an expansion of the supply and a reduction of the state impact on the energy costs – for all, note well – can change something therein. We require secure power plant performance. We allow no demolition of cooling towers. Much more, we need to re-activate nuclear power plants and build anew.   

            Tarek Al-Wazir (Greens): And which cost nothing, or what?

As long as you don’t pick up and as long as you don’t prepare a lower energy price in the market, and in fact without subventions, so is there here, God knows, nothing to celebrate. 

Frau Minister – she is unfortunately gone –

            Catharina dos Santos-Wintz (CDU/CSU): She is at the Budget Committee.                                               You know that!

it is nice that the bust of Ludwig Erhard is again in the Ministry. That is good. Yet I also want to say, Frau Reiche: If you really want to be the government’s ordnungspolitische wise man, then more than an overcoming of symptoms, more than short-term plaster, is required. Your draft budget laws, which now come in series to the plenary session, are basically, as before, Habeck laws. Here and there, a bit was slimmed down, yet where are the promised changes in policy? They occur only after the comma. Your subventions orgy which now continues through the budget will soon no longer function. The cost of debts rises dramatically, and of that also the economic wise man Veronika Grimm has written to you in a register – cite: 

            “From 2029, we expend the entire intake of the state for Soziales, defense and                                           interest payments.”

End citation. And – another cite: 

            “This finance planning is a declaration of bankruptcy.”

Frau Grimm is right. Herr Finance Minister, since you speak similarly – he is now here – say readily something on that. This finance planning is a declaration of bankruptcy. Truly! 

2029 is for us also as the AfD an important year’s number. Then we will here in this sovereign house be the governing delegation. 

            Sandra Stein (Green): Do we perhaps still have elections, or what?

We will form the government. We will then need to regulate that. That will become a show of strength. Yet I promise: We will take care that this expensive wrong way ends. It does not work. 

One thing still to promise: First we start in the States. It begins in 2026 in Sachsen-Anhalt and in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. I therein rejoice. 

Thank you. 

 

[trans: tem]

Leif-Erik Holm, May 17, 2023, Economy Ministry

AfD Kompakt, May 17, 2023.

Graichen’s departure was overdue. With him, the Economy Ministry developed into a ministry for nepotism and the defense of cliques. And in that regard, it has long since not only been about the best man affair. The award of contracts in the millions to the eco-lobby and the Graichens’ numerous, close connections of kindred and friends to those benefited has led to a massive loss of trust.

Habeck may with the decision have now hit the emergency brake – as a minister, he is nevertheless impaired. He is quite clearly up against it and must allow the question why for a week after the inquiry in committee he still adhered to Graichen and what now has led to his sudden change of mind. Possibly there threatens to rise up still more from the green swamp of favors. For example, that the Graichen siblings’ Öko-Institut has received alone in this legislative period from Federal ministers and Federal officials orders of approximately twelve million euros; before all, from the Economy Ministry, as my inquiry to the Federal government has brought to light.

Habeck must finally make a clean slate and clear out all the green sleeze and subordinated officials in his ministry. In that regard, the AfD will gladly help him and move for an investigating committee for this ever expanding affair.

 

[trans: tem]

 

 

 

 

Leif-Erik Holm, January 26, 2023, German Economy

German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 20/82, pp. 9739-9740.

Dear citizens. Frau President. Ladies and gentlemen.

Herr Minister Habeck, you say that the crisis is governable. I say: Before all, we can thank the weather god that we have so mild a winter. This has created the possibility of still changing things. Otherwise, it would appear very, very gloomy in our country.

No problem has been solved. You needed to finally come to that and your report grants nothing at all of that. You serve up to us the same transformation sauce as in last year. That will not improve the situation; it will further intensify it. Yet we all in common cannot want that.

What do you do against the inflation? Nothing. We have seen the numbers in your report. Six percent inflation. If we take out the energy relief at the pump, we are at 7.5 percent. At the savings account, there is perhaps one percent interest if it goes well. That means, there is a money devaluation of five or six percent each year for that bit of savings which we have. In that regard, everything at the supermarket becomes more expensive. It is a sozial annihilation program and in return you so far do nothing.

You see the data. The brewers have just said: The beer becomes more expensive. Now you can say: Not absolutely everyone needs drink beer. That may be. Yet it is much more dramatic in regards our industrial backbone. Large concerns are at the tipping point: BASF, Bayer, BioNTech. The de-industrialization of our country continues and I sense here in this room no panic at all. It somehow appears to be that all of that will be accepted. Yet that cannot be!

We are no longer internationally competitive. The others slowly surpass us. We need to do something to counter that, by which we finally improve our general conditions in Germany and bring down energy prices, and indeed permanently.

What is it then when the automobile industry goes, when chemicals step by step disappear from our country? In the end, no one remains to whom the Mittelstand can sell something. The Mittelstand has “Germany for life”, it remains here, it must remain here. If the giants are gone, then they do not quickly come again. The workplaces are lost. In cannot so continue. To the contrary, you as Economy Minister need now finally lead.

You can happily dream of becoming the green economy party of which I have read today. That of course is of no use to you if the hitherto economy has been run away.

No, this crisis is not so governable. In any case, not if one believes himself in this situation to be able, with the fantasy of an expensive eco-transformation, to continue into an energy nothing. You thereby put in play our prosperity.

            Timon Gremmels (SPD): If we do nothing, then we put in play the prosperity!                        Mein Gott!

There is much to do. There are so many things to do: The reconstruction of the infrastructure – even here, you are blockading, as we see, the street reconstruction – , the bureaucracy deconstruction. Elsewhere, guidelines are abolished. What happens with us? We require a “supply chain care obligation law” [Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz]; all actually speak this word monstrosity. Does anyone here still want to speak seriously of bureaucracy deconstruction? Nothing happens in this country.

Other countries perceive that the withdrawal from nuclear power was nonsense because we require at every time a sufficient supply of energy. We need nevertheless act when we see that in the auto industry the electricity costs for the production of one auto have risen to 800 euros. In the U.S.A., they have also risen, but to 250 dollars. This distinction makes clear: We cannot live long with these energy prices. The energy prices must come down; we need a sufficient energy supply.

On that account, the power plants at hand need to continue to run beyond April 15, 2023. We have secure power plants. The Belgians do it: They let them continue to run for ten years – power plants which are less secure than ours. Why, please, don’t we do it when even your Federal Network Agency chief says: “That could actually be done”?

            Timon Gremmels (SPD): He did not!

            Felix Banaszak (Greens): Not at all! False accusation!

He said it for the French power plants which we also use. And if it applies to the French power plants, then it rightly applies for our secure nuclear power plants.

            Timon Gremmels (SPD): No!

            Felix Banaszak (Greens): That is a false accusation!

No, it is your policy which refuses to accept these things. You refuse to accept a rational energy policy which is necessary, as is managed by other countries around us. There have been warnings of electricity rationing. The city plants warn of long-term doubled prices for electricity and gas. All of this happens in our country. It is your false policy.

Herr Minister, you squander too much time on developing new, rosy, feel-good dictates for your economy report. Please finally do your official duty so that our businesses remain here and our workplaces continue to remain in this country.

Thank you.

 

[trans: tem]

 

 

 

 

 

Leif-Erik Holm, September 6, 2022, Energy Crisis

AfD Kompakt, September 6, 2022.

The Ampel’s decision to no longer allow the remaining nuclear power plants to run but to use only as reserve power plants is a bad joke. Thereby will be contributed purely nothing for a solution of the energy crisis. The Federal government ignores not only the economic necessity of nuclear power but the great majority of the people’s desire to longer allow the power plants on the network. Apparently the opinion in his party is more important to Minister Habeck than that of the citizens. Unfortunately once again the ideology triumphs over reason. The Ampel thereby further contributes to that the prices for electricity and for gas still continue to explode.

A rapid and permanent relief in regards the electricity prices is only possible with nuclear energy. Therefore, not only must the running times of the nuclear power plants [KKW] still in operation be extended by at least five years but also the three KKW removed from the network at the end of last year are to be reactivated. Numerous experts in an open letter to the government have lately clearly stated that a continued operation would be possible without further ado.

The citizens and the economic basis of Germany urgently require a secure and affordable energy supply. Nuclear energy delivers precisely this, and what is more is environmental friendly. A withdrawal from the atomic withdrawal is therefore long since overdue. Germany needs to finally give up its fatal energy policy Sonderweg adopted under red-green and Chancellor Merkel. It is time for the re-entry.

 

[trans: tem]