In a SPIEGEL interview, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz discusses his anger towards American politicians, the role of speculators in the coffee business, his expansion plans for Germany and the Seattle-based company’s plan to transform itself into a player in the grocery business.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Schultz, you recently published a highly unusual open letter in the United States. In it, you vented your frustration with political leaders and voiced strong dismay at the economic and fiscal direction the US is taking, saying: “Our country is better than this.” You even asked fellow business leaders to stop contributing to political campaigns. What are you so angry about?
Schultz: This is a crisis of leadership and, in my own way, I’m trying to capture the voice of people who perhaps don’t have the platform I have or, for whatever reason, don’t have the courage to speak out. Elected officials from both parties have chosen to put partisan and ideological purity over the well-being of the people. They have undermined the full faith and credit of the United States.