Change of leadership in the Greens: Baerbock and Habeck campaign for understanding for compromises

How are things going with the Greens? Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck are leaving their posts, and a new leadership duo is to be elected at a party conference.

Update from January 28, 2022, 8:15 p.m.: Outgoing Green Party chairmen Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck have appealed to the party base for understanding of the compromises that need to be made in government. “We have 14.x percent and not 25.x percent,” said Habeck on Friday evening at the Green party conference with a view to the federal election. Baerbock said that for the Greens it is about shaping the new chapter that is now beginning, “by wrestling, by arguing”.

In a joint appearance, Baerbock and Habeck addressed the digitally connected party congress delegates. They formed the Greens’ dual leadership for four years, and a new board will be elected on Saturday. Baerbock said that if you really want to change something, you have to be willing to “jump over your own shadow”. The Federal Foreign Minister named the goal of working together “so that our country, so that the world becomes a little bit better in the next few years”.

Habeck cited as an example the EU’s controversial plan to classify nuclear and gas energy as sustainable and therefore worthy of support. “It’s difficult, but it’s good that we’re doing it, that we can take care of it,” emphasized the Economics and Climate Protection Minister. Having an influence on this is the reason why the Greens went into government. “You shouldn’t complain about that, you should be proud of it.”

Change of leadership in the Greens: Baerbock and Habeck resign

First report: Berlin – An important change is pending for the Greens. The two chairmen, Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, are stepping down after four years. A new leader will be elected at the party conference beginning on Friday. She has to do a difficult balancing act. On the one hand to preserve the independence of the party and on the other hand to enable government in the “traffic light”.

While Baerbock in the traffic light government out SPD*, Greens and FDP* took over the Foreign Office, Habeck received the Ministry for Economics and Climate Protection. Because of the usual separation of party and government offices among the Greens, they are now giving up their chair positions. Two candidates have already been identified for the successor.

Change of leadership in the Greens: Party congress should elect a new duo

Deputy party leader Ricarda Lang and foreign politician Omid Nouripour are standing for election. The tasks before them are great. So stand the controversial ones Corona special payments of 1500 euros in focus, which the Green Federal Executive Board* self-granted in 2020. The funds were repaid, but the public prosecutor’s office has now started investigations into the initial suspicion of infidelity.

So far, the process has not caused any major unrest among the Greens – the party is more concerned with its role in the traffic light coalition. After a fairly harmonious start, the Greens are now feeling the strain of the level. Even the nomination of the ministers in the traffic light cabinet was tantamount to a tough power struggle. It flared up Factional battle for occupation of the agriculture department. Cem Ozdemir* finally prevailed against Anton Hofreiter.

New boss floor at the Greens: Who will be the new management duo?

No sooner had the personnel been decided than the Greens were annoyed by a push by the then designated Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing, to relieve diesel drivers. The FDP politician’s initiative reminded the Greens that the Liberals could step on the brakes on their ambitious climate protection goals. But the FDP is not the only problem facing the Greens in the traffic light coalition: Foreign Minister Baerbock has to face the Chancellor Olaf Scholz* (SPD), who takes a more moderate course in Russia policy than many Greens would like.

But especially when it comes to their core issue of environmental protection, the Greens are confronted with some bitter realizations: On New Year’s Day, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke had to protest against the EU Commission’s plan to classify energy production from nuclear plants as sustainable. And two weeks ago conceded Habeck agrees that Germany’s CO2 reduction targets* and the expansion of renewable energies have a “proper backlog”.

Such messages are bitter pills for the grassroots. After all, there are enormous expectations of Habeck and his important department. Even the outgoing party leadership fears that the climate movement could turn away from the Greens in disappointment. “The decisive thing is that we do not repeat a mistake made in government from 1998 to 2005, where the Greens did not manage to stay in dialogue with social alliance partners, where there were also upheavals,” said outgoing federal manager Michael Kellner recently to RTL and nv.

Party congress of the Greens: Other successors are also decided

Kellner, who is now Parliamentary State Secretary in Habeck’s ministry, is also resigning from his post at the party congress – Emily Büning, the former head of organization at party headquarters, is running to succeed him.

Of course, there are high expectations of the two future chairmen – especially from the Green Youth. The newcomers to the party hope that the new national board will “ensure that the party will continue to be visible in the future and that conflicts will arise”, as its chairman Timo Dzienus explained to the afp.

So the Greens are by no means in the throes of calm waters. Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour will not be short of conflicting issues when they are elected new party leaders on Saturday. It remains to be seen how well they will navigate their party through the troubled traffic light times. (slo/afp) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

List of rubrics: © Kay Nietfeld/dpa