München – The Internationale Handwerksmesse (IHM) has started. Until Sunday 650 exhibitors show their products: wooden houses, solar panels, handbags, furniture, kitchen appliances. No trade fair is as diverse as the IHM.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (52, Greens) opened it with thoughtful words. “In the past years and decades, our economy has been geared towards just-in-time production.” Goods and raw materials were no longer kept in stock, but only requested for direct production.
Habeck (left) and Prime Minister Markus Söder (right) began their tour of the trade fair together at a stand for training in trades
“That’s what causes us problems today, I mean that in a completely neutral way,” said Habeck. The goods chains were not set up with foresight. The delivery problems are now triggered by wars. “This just-in-time production may not be the final answer. If that’s not the value we want, maybe the path leads to craftsmanship.”
The current energy crisis is depressing, he said. “But we are working very well as a nation at the moment.” Germany has already reduced gas consumption by ten percent. In principle, however, this is not the solution. Habeck: “There are still enormous price increases.”
Therefore, the following applies: We have to get more. Habeck said explicitly: “Markus Söder is right regarding that. We need pipes for gas transport. That is our main problem.”
Prime Minister Söder (55, CSU) welcomed Habeck at the opening ceremony in Hall C6 of the fair. In a short speech, he once once more warned the Federal Minister of Economics: “We have a gas emergency. We don’t need an additional electricity emergency.” He doesn’t think it’s right that nuclear power plants that supply electricity for 10 million households should be shut down.
The craft fair runs until Sunday at the Munich exhibition center. On Friday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (63, SPD) will come to the exhibition center for the top-level discussion of German craftsmanship.