The study analyzes the discourse management of the black-yellow federal government in the context of the energy transition between 2009 and 2013. It concludes that, overall, a determined transformation of the energy system was only half-heartedly undertaken in argumentative terms. While the promoted connection between climate protection efforts and the benefits of sustainable growth opened up avenues for action, traditional industry policy paradigms rooted in the past also shaped the discourse, leading to contradictory patterns of argumentation. Overall, while the black-yellow coalition debunked the myth of the energy transition, its success now appears more realistic than it did before 2009.