We are in the final comic moments: the CDU – after voting in the European Parliament for a ban on internal combustion engines from 2035, and after having forced even other EPP delegations that were against it at the time to do the same – changes its mind and shifts into reverse gear. Did they have to wait for the collapse of the car industry to realize this? What strategists! In the face of Draghi’s statements, Ehler and Schwab make statements cloaked in mock enthusiasm, emphasizing only the part that interests them and the frugals: innovation and the domestic market. No mention of the importance of a common debt. 

Friedrich Merz, chairman of the CDU, is calling for a reversal of the ban on new cars with internal combustion engines that will take effect in 2035. "This ban on combustion engines must be reversed because we do not know today what kind of mobility can be developed in the future in a truly environmentally neutral and climate-friendly way," Merz said at a CDU election campaign event in Saarlouis.

Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) studied philosophy and is an author of children's books. "What we have in common is that we have no idea about technology. He doesn't, and neither do I," Merz continued. "And that's why we shouldn't presume to make political decisions today about which technologies will be the right ones in 10, 15 or 20 years, so that we can maintain our prosperity and adequately protect the climate."

Instead, policymakers must create the conditions that allow companies, engineers, and "the people who can do it" to make the right choices about products and technologies so they can be economically successful. "The fastest way to make this country carbon neutral is to shut everything down. Then we'll be carbon neutral tomorrow. But who really wants that?" he said.