For German Chancellor Scholz, Chancellor Merkel's shoes are too big: With the sale of Viessmann, the German government's narrative that the transformation to climate neutrality promises a new German economic miracle begins to falter.

"The Hessian heating equipment manufacturer Viessmann is selling its core business, air conditioning and heat pump technology, to the American company Carrier Global. As is so often the case when a German company goes to foreign investors, there are calls for the federal government to prevent the sale. 

After all, the heat pump is the cornerstone of the heat transition towards heating with renewable energies. Isn't it part of the critical infrastructure?

The decision of the Viessmanns puts the federal government in an argumentative dilemma. On the one hand, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) wants 500,000 heat pumps to be installed in Germany every year. He is also interested in ensuring that as little additional funding as possible from the climate and transformation fund is required for the changeover.

If Asian manufacturers are now preparing to sell cheap heat pumps to Germans because they have experience with this technology and its mass production, that should be in the interest of the federal government - even if a German medium-sized company cannot keep up. 

For customers in this country, the competition is good, prices are likely to fall. There is also no threat of one-sided dependency, because heat pumps come not only from China, but also from South Korea, Japan and America.

With the sale of Viessmann, however, the German government's narrative that the transformation to climate neutrality promises a new German economic miracle is beginning to falter. Doubts about this representation have long been appropriate. New heat pump plants are mainly being built in Eastern Europe, not in Germany. There will only be more added value here if the site conditions are right.

This involves far more than just the level of subsidies. Cheap energy, lower taxes, qualified immigrants, less bureaucracy - North America is an attractive partner for German companies in many respects. With the growth forecast raised to 0.4 percent, Habeck wants to spread optimism. But the number shows how bad Germany is in an international comparison.”

It seems that Chancellor Scholz has driven Germany and, attached to it, tiny Lithuania, into a roadside ditch.