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VW scandal exposes toothlessness of the regulatory regime in Germany, critics say.
BERLIN Chancellor Angela Merkel learned early in his political career that taking the German automotive industry is risky.
It was the spring of 1995 and the Minister of the newly appointed Environment tried to convince his cabinet colleagues to support a whole new series of anti-smog rules that included speed limits and traffic bans were more severe.
But Mr. Matthias Wissmann, the transport minister with close ties to the industry, did not want anything from him.
He wonders whether the measures taken by Dr. Merkel could reduce pollution emissions at all and promised to fight against any attempt to impose speed limits on the Autobahn His argument won the day, reducing Dr. Merkel to tears, according to a 2010 biography Gerd Langguth.
For the ambitious young minister of the communist East, it was a lesson on how politics worked in a united Germany.
The Volkswagen scandal is a warning shot to the politicians they need to spend less time protecting the automobile industry and more time supervising.
Much has changed in the years since Dr Merkel is in his third term as chancellor, M. Wissmann directs the Verband der Automobilindustrie VDA, the influential lobby group for German car manufacturers, but there a constant influence of the automotive industry in German politics.
This relationship, which some describe as symbiotic, bordering incestuous, is honored today as Volkswagen, the largest carmaker, coils of a scandal shows the country that forced its CEO longtime Martin Winterkorn and sent her plunging stock.
The authorities in Germany and elsewhere in Europe had known for years about the growing gap between the emission values measured in official laboratory tests and those recorded in a real environment Yet critics say, Berlin fought to protect its automakers to further review and, in a major confrontation with its European partners there are two years from tougher emissions targets.
Dr Merkel defended the position necessary to protect jobs Some see the VW scandal as symptomatic of a deeper problem in which the German car manufacturers were allowed to do what they want without control or fear of reprisals Berlin.
The Volkswagen scandal is a wake up call to politicians, said Christina Deckwirth control lobby based in Berlin It shows they have to spend less time protecting the automobile industry and more time supervising.
There are good reasons why Berlin is its carmakers The industry employs more than 750,000 people in Germany last year, the Big Three automakers, Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, dragged in turnover to 413 billion S 657000000000, much more important than the German federal Government budget, which stood at just under $ 300 billion.
The VW scandal has also exposed the toothlessness of the regulatory regime in Germany, opposition parties and industry experts say the main monitoring body for the automotive sector, the Authority federal road, falls Department of Transportation in Berlin, raising questions about its independence and preparation for industry policy.
Worst of all is that the auto industry has been left to do the tests themselves, there was no control, Mr. Oliver Kirscher, Green MP said in a debate in the German parliament on Friday.
Dr Merkel has no direct link with the automotive industry, but its position has clearly changed since his days as environment minister under Dr Helmut Kohl in 2009, in the months before she seek a second tenure, she oversaw a controversial rescue operation - which later unraveled - the German automaker Opel going against the advice of his Minister of Economy.
Four years later, in the period before the next elections and amid strong pressure from the VDA, the government has aggressively pressure in Brussels - even threatening other countries to win their support, diplomats - to water the new EU rules on CO2 emissions, Daimler and BMW were opposed.
So far, the German automotive industry has been treated with kid gloves by politicians, said Klaus Mueller, head of the Federation of German Consumer emission targets were set at lower levels and ambitious agreement on the new testing rules was delayed Worse, there was no mechanism to monitor whether the legal emission limits were met at the expense of the environment and the consumer, the VW case showed.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times October 3, 2015, with the political weight as the German car industry Print edition Subscribe.
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