with games to spray out. stuff like it's alfie doesn't buy on and with the position of national coach soon to be vacant could it be prudent ta germany. watching news from the end up next stop felt germany's car industry followed by politics a season that. you feel worried about the planet let me show you. how stuffy on the green fence post and leaves korea remains true. join me for a deep dive into the green transformation from a tribute for the concept. of.

a source of national pride in germany car stand for freedom status and german engineering with the voyage to our prosperity today is insatiable without the car and without the cars that with our prosperity tomorrow will not be possible it would slow. the car is the engine of the german economy an industry that employs a 1000000. car makers have long enjoyed a special relationship with politicians the message is the car stands for germany it must be protected. sacrifices are made in the interests of the auto industry marge corporations influence politics in germany and in europe german cars history has traditionally been very industrials it takes to speak welsh in the interests of control and influence but the biggest fraud scandal in recent history has tested the cozy relationship between car makers. and politicians. it's but i'm extremely.

the mood is shifting many are calling for fundamental change at the same time new competitors are entering the market especially from china. we were told we couldn't if we keep doing the same old stuff still wake up in a world with germany is no longer an industrialised country. in the middle of dealing with this credibility crisis the auto industry is dealt another heavy blow coated 19 sales have slumped assembly lines are at a standstill the outlook is poor without firm political backing the industry could be headed toward an uncertain future is the era of the german automobile coming to an end. one of the most important automotive hubs in germany. here people have long

depended on local car makers and their suppliers for their livelihoods but past successes aren't worth much today as dieter techo warns shortly before stepping down as c.e.o. of dime or no door of my trip says daimler will exist forever. all months it was better believed the consequences would be devastating to peace the district manager of the german metal workers union i g matal in baton burton back on november 22nd 2019 the union rallies to protest recently announced job cuts . a fair bit today i stand here in chicago looking out of the 15000 metal workers who are saying boss this is not the way to do it. 4 months before the coronavirus pandemic shuts down europe many employees already fear for their future. more than 500000 people work in the

automotive industry in budden didn't back. a gun so it's a whole system that's affected its supply of prefab development and so the math doesn't include that bike because of the butcher the headdress as a retired us and the list goes all in all it's clear that without these industries that the lights will go out if the. car manufacturers and suppliers are in a difficult position. their business model is shaky and many companies have few answers to the myriad challenges of the future. job cuts are one way to reduce costs. it's like now they're saying we'll get rid of some employees no i might need new people elsewhere in reality it's about cutting costs and scientists are no longer doing this here in germany i'm doing it elsewhere for the. workers not only blame auto executives for failing to find innovative solutions they also hold

politicians responsible he pointed to the allocations are reacting far too late they always support the automakers who are actually responsible for the problems i think they should be ensuring our jobs are say i don't like the auto industry employees are often weighed down by insecurity and existential fears germany the nation of cars is also plagued by self-doubt. the germans and the automobile share a long emotional history. at the end of the 19th century karl benson got leap dimer laid the foundations of what would become the automotive era. the internal combustion engine is the flagship of german engineering following the 2nd world war cars are mass produced. roots and off the years of hunger deprivation and war those this opportunity you could go or if you wanted and you could afford to do it with your own. and so suddenly the world was opened and. politicians commit

fully to nurturing the auto industry. building roads was cheaper than expanding public transport in the 1950 s. there was so much hate in technology and the future that people said we're going to rebuilt the city. and they made this car oriented city with wide roads easy access for cars all these torn down neighborhoods to do it was. the whole country is rebuilt with cars in mind when problems arise politicians step in to help during the 2008 financial crisis the government introduces an environmental bonus to help the industry. in the 1st to have a handful here to live or is everything up to 20 vehicles faults or. 5000000000 euro's exclusively for the auto industry the relationship between car makers and politicians is a close one and fostered by former german chancellor's. scotus and or

decades being a car country has been part of germany and that drivers have freedom on the roads that car companies do their business here and this idea has actually grown in importance over time. in 2019 more than 800000 people were directly employed by the auto industry but the mechanical engineering metalworking and textile sectors all benefit from the high volume of orders from car makers to an estimated 2000000 people depend on the auto industry for work that's nearly one in 20 of germany's working population this globe is clear why the copper plays such a central role for us. when it comes to politics automakers have long enjoyed a special status. if you don't want some of the industries especially close to my hot tub in. in terms of industrial policy it's perfectly clear the automobile is

the lifeblood of germany in bavaria it was in this job for the auto industry is here in germany we have a great responsibility for the many jobs that depend on it coming. for years political decisions that benefit the auto industry have been made not only at the federal level but also in the e.u. parliament. the environmental organization transport and environment campaigns for sustainable transportation in europe. yulia polis going over advisors parliamentarians for the organization she sees the effects of the auto lobbies influence on a daily basis i think for many many years what we have seen working here in brussels is that there is really a lot of protectionism on behalf of the german governments towards the industry protecting the auto industry often comes at the expense of the environment in 1909

the e.u. wants to require manufacturers to take back obsolete vehicles germany's environment minister green party politicians you're going to team supports the plan however it would be very costly for the car makers car chancellor gerhard schroeder intervenes in a turn about 13 abstains from the vote in brussels to. the motion fails. you have remaining to be the auto industry you've been untouched. zinta the arguments performed by the automotive industry are of such great importance for the chancellor that the his chinese position so i know it's going to cause its own for the moment sometimes it really feels that the government is in the pockets of the german manufacturer and a lot of the time the german government has intervened and really supported the business interests all of them in the factories here in brussels in your decision making. kristina dec 4th works for lobby

control an organization investigating the influence of the auto industry on the german government the idea that this is the d.d.a. the german association of the automotive industry is one of the most powerful lobbies right here in the government district it's a stone's throw to the chancellor as office which means easy access to politician was. the major german automakers also position themselves close to the been destructive german parliament b.m.w. . and the vdare. and of course dimer. a short walk from the german parliament is the volkswagen group forum. and often found out that the group representation is located upstairs that's really the lobbying office so they exert influence on the government from here if mr rush

take form a government spokesman for both short and macro who works here michelle young has an heads the office that he has to head merkel's office you can see the relationship between politics and the car lobbyist very close. longstanding relationships give auto lobbyists special access to government personnel. the auto industry people go in and out of government offices there on a 1st name basis they have a tight relationship closer than almost any other industry here. top politicians regularly move on to jobs in the auto industry. one prominent example this month. he was a former federal transport minister for the center right christian democrats and a member of parliament for more than 30 years after leaving parliament he became the chief lobbyist for the b.d.a. his letters to. chancellor begin with dear uncle. maximillian sherbert formerly the

press spokesman for the christian social union now the chief lobbyist at b.m.w. and echoed fun clayton a member of the christian democrats federal executive committee. in 2006 he was the party's federal treasurer. in september 23rd teen fun claydon was serving as minister of state in the chancellor's office 2 months later he became the chief lobbyist at di martin. caught in fact that frankly i got from clayton signed his employment contract with time there while he was still working in the chancellor's office you have to ask was interests already lie with his future employer or is he still making decisions for the common good which is the job of a politician and political system. lobbying is a permitted part of the german democratic tradition what is unusual about the auto

lobby is that it's consistently staffed by high ranking ex politicians hildegard miller the b.d.'s current president is no exception as under the americans former minister of state she's well connected to the chancellor's office shortly before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic she is seen as a beacon of hope someone to lead the auto industry out of the crisis her annual salary at the b.d.a. more than 1000000 europe's. top politicians demand high salaries and only the large corporations can afford that hardly any environmental association can afford a top politician as its chief lobbyist i often quote. our environmental and societal interests falling by the wayside who is politics for. the federal transport ministry in berlin parliamentary state secretary stephan bilger tries answering the question. there are various legitimate interests you know that

includes employees in the automotive industry as well as residents who want clean air ministry one has a ministry where of course tasked with reconciling all of these different budget amid interests and it's bad is what we are trying to do here day in and day out as was. and what of environmental interests in the transport ministry in 2019 german transport minister andrea scheuer met 11 times with representatives from the automotive industry despite requests he did not meet once with environmental groups does this and this is a huge imbalance and shows what mr scheuer stands for he stands for protecting the german car industry minister not the environment and consumers and so that's. you know a lot of real government support has shaped german industry policy for many years. since the late 1990 s. parliamentarians have discussed stricter limits on c o 2 emissions but instead of concrete rules they decide voluntary measures are

enough. the former environment minister defends the decision. of all she commitment aimed at a reasonable goal is not bad simply because it's voluntary the question is if that goal will be achieved and if it is there is no need to bring out the most talk just tools of persuasion and. it quickly becomes clear that the industry is falling far short of its c o 2 reduction targets. the car industry the car sector in europe for example is one of the biggest contributors to c o 2 emissions so we have to go faster and the car industry has to go faster but instead of preparing on time investing and rolling out technology they prioritized profits in the good vs the u.s. where they didn't have any regulations to meet. meanwhile the issue of climate change grows more serious every year in 2000.