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IrelandHabeck rules out a political comeback for the foreseeable future
The former German vice chancellor tells Sandra Maischberger he wants a new life, while criticizing how politicians are handling conscription and European security.
GermanyStory of Why this story? One of tagesschau's most watched videos since yesterday, with 240,610 views.
tagesschau: The main news programme of ARD, Germany's public broadcasters, on air since 1952. 2.3M subscribers and 2.5B views.
Wehrpflicht & Co.: Was bedeutet das für die junge Generation? – Robert Habeck | maischberger
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Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 2:20Habeck argues that party interests and electoral pressure increasingly obstruct compromise inside governing coalitions.
- 9:00He warns against Trump and Putin deciding Ukraine's future without adequate regard for Ukraine or Europe.
- 12:00An Arctic map helps explain Greenland's strategic importance, opening sea routes and competing powers' interests.
- 17:45The conscription discussion begins: Habeck says young people need a greater voice in decisions about compulsory service.
- 23:10Habeck defends countercyclical economic policy and argues that political obstruction delayed necessary measures.
- 26:10He rules out a foreseeable political return, saying he wants to build a life beyond his polarizing public role.
Robert Habeck does not want to return to frontline politics for the foreseeable future. Near the end of his conversation with Sandra Maischberger, Germany's former vice chancellor explains that he had wanted to bridge divisions but ultimately became a polarizing figure himself. He is building a new life instead.
Germany's ARD news service tagesschau carries the wide-ranging interview, which moves from tensions inside Berlin's governing coalition to Ukraine, Greenland and the question of what the state can ask of young people. Habeck, a Green politician who served as economy and climate minister under Olaf Scholz, speaks both as a former cabinet member and as a critic of the government that followed.
On conscription, his objection concerns who gets heard. Responding to Bavarian leader Markus Söder's call for compulsory military service, Habeck criticizes politicians in their fifties telling young people they must serve without sufficiently involving that generation in the discussion. The segment promised by the video's title begins well into the interview, after its foreign-policy exchanges.
Habeck welcomes the Democrats' success in the US midterm elections as evidence that money and technological manipulation do not inevitably determine democratic outcomes. But he remains sharply critical of Donald Trump's foreign policy. Discussing Ukraine negotiations in Abu Dhabi, he accuses the Trump administration of betraying Ukraine and warns against Washington and Moscow deciding the country's future, and Europe's security, over others' heads.
An Arctic map broadens that argument. Habeck explains how melting sea routes and Greenland's strategic location draw the interests of the United States, Russia and China. He argues that Europe has not established a sufficiently clear role in the region.
Back in Germany, he describes coalition politics increasingly driven by individual parties' interests rather than shared problem-solving. Poor polling, he says, makes compromise harder. The conversation also touches on Ilse Aigner as a possible federal president, tensions involving the Berlin Greens and the difficulty of discussing Gaza without crossing into antisemitism.
An archival clip of Friedrich Merz attacking his economic approach prompts Habeck to defend countercyclical policy: supporting the economy when it is weak. He argues that political obstruction delayed necessary measures. Then footage of his early Green Party career gives way to Maischberger's comeback question, and his answer that he does not intend to return.
German writer and former Green politician who served as vice chancellor and economy and climate minister under Olaf Scholz from 2021 to 2025. He previously co-led the Greens.
More on Wikipedia ›President of Bavaria’s state parliament and a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU). She previously served as Germany’s food, agriculture and consumer protection minister from 2008 to 2013.
More on Wikipedia ›Germany’s chancellor since May 2025 and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2022. He previously led the CDU/CSU parliamentary opposition.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
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- Video published
- November 11, 2026
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The numbers
The interview drew about 241,000 views since yesterday, making it one of Germany's most-watched new news videos.
💡 Test your knowledge
Under which German chancellor did Robert Habeck serve as vice chancellor?
Habeck served as vice chancellor and economy and climate minister in Olaf Scholz's cabinet.