A fight for the Ministry of Agriculture raged among the Greens between Anton Hofreiter and Cem Özdemir. The former lost, he is threatened with a political collapse.
Munich – It’s hard to believe, but Anton Hofreiter knows what existential experiences are. In the South American jungle he almost fell down a ledge – a shrub that got his leg caught saved his life. Another time he deterred an attacker with his plant cutter. The story in which he dragged himself through the jungle with a broken foot for days, a borderline experience, is particularly wild. He still has scars on his ankle today.
Against all that is the latest turn in the life of Toni Hofreiter Pipifax. It is still painful. The 51-year-old Green politician had firmly expected to sit as minister in the new cabinet of the Ampel coalition. A lot was conceivable: the transport department or – for the doctor of biology with border and field experience – everything from environment to agriculture. It was considered set. But in the internal power struggle, the Sauerlacher lost out. Since Thursday (November 25th) it has been clear that he will come away empty-handed. Well, he still has the parliamentary group chairmanship – they thought.
Greens: Hofreiter will also resign as co-leader of the party
But things are different. Hofreiter will give up the office he has held since 2013 and in which he became the left figurehead of the Greens. Neither he nor co-parliamentary leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt would run again next week, according to parliamentary groups. It fits in with the fact that the economic politician Katharina Dröge has declared her candidacy for the powerful post. She would like to lead the team “for the next few years, as one of two group chairmen,” says a letter to the Munich Mercury is present. Like Hofreiter, Dröge belongs to the left wing. So that means: he or she.
According to mirrors the matter is agreed between the two of them. The more the question arises: Has Hofreiter miscalculated in assuming that he will become a minister? Hofreiter explains on request that he doesn’t believe in discussing the matter at length. One parliamentary group member assesses the matter as follows: “There would have been a change anyway.” After eight years it was also indicated.
Green politician Hofreiter: dream of ministerial burst – Trittin could not help either
Either way: All of this is bitter for Hofreiter. Instead of helping to turn the country upside down at a crucial point, the Bavarian slips into the second row of the parliamentary group. He really wanted the ministerial office. When it came to the Realo Cem Özdemir instead – at the request of the party leaders Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock – Hofreiter is said to have sent a small team around his sponsor Jürgen Trittin to turn the matter around. Without success.
Since then, the left wing of the Greens has been angry, to put it mildly. Quite a few believe that the power struggle will lie like a dark shadow over the longed-for government participation. Hofreiter himself showed greatness. On the day of the defeat, he praised the coalition agreement and the bosses’ negotiating skills. He’s been calm since then.
Even with old companions there is disappointment. “He would have done well,” says Susanna Tausendfreund, the green mayor of Pullach. During her time as a member of the state parliament, Hofreiter worked for her. Both are good friends, Tausendfreund trusted their former employees in a civil registry office. Toni, she says, has always been determined and always clearly stated his opinion. “Perhaps he has become a bit more diplomatic as the parliamentary group leader.”
Ministerial post in the traffic light government – the Greens prefer Özdemir Hofreiter
But not diplomatic enough? Some in the left-wing camp believe that Hofreiter is too unadjusted for the two Realo party leaders, too incapable of compromise, too provocative. In an interview, FDP man Wolfgang Kubicki once admitted that the Bavarian made him so aggressive that he could hardly be in a room with him. Bad conditions for coalition.
And now? The left camp will calm down, they say, nobody wants long fights. As a consolation, Hofreiter could take over a committee chairmanship, after all, that would not be without irony. When Özdemir Hofreiter wanted to dispute the parliamentary group chairmanship in 2019 and lost, he was “only” able to chair the transport committee. The comeback was successful. Why shouldn’t the Bavarian do it too, someday? * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
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