Response from Berlin

The situation in the Greens is dramatic after successive electoral failures in eastern Germany and also in the European elections in June. The developments are stormy, and at least until the November conference no calm is expected. After the resignation of the leading duo of Lang and Nuripour and the entire party board, today follows the resignation of the youth executive board as well, with the aim of creating a “new, decisively left-wing party youth”, according to an internal letter leaked to the german press.

As announced by the heads of the youth of the Greens, Svenia Apun and Katarina Stola, the best option, given the circumstances, was their departure. As they state in their letter, in the long run it would not be possible “to be a member of a party and at the same time promote completely different political positions than those implemented by your own party”.

The fact is that for a long time there have been strong upheavals and serious disagreements within the party and the youth, about the positions and decisions of the Greens as a member of the three-party coalition, which contradicted the founding values ​​that the party stood for. These disagreements ranged from energy and climate policy, to the war in Ukraine with German arms shipments and finally the Palestinian one.

Hambek claims a leading role

In the meantime, until further notice, the leading role in the Greens seems to be assumed by the vice-chancellor and Minister of Economy and Energy Robert Habeck.

Speaking to the public network ARD and the show Tagesthemen he said that “we all bear responsibility, including me of course”. However, he doesn’t seem to be thinking of resigning, quite the opposite. He will probably run for the leadership of the party as well as for the chancellorship and asks the members to be “honest” in the secret ballot.

As for the consequences of the mass resignations in the Greens, Habeck separated the internal party crisis from the work of government. “Government activity is something different. You don’t just run away from a government post because the conditions are difficult,” he said.

Commenting on the ongoing bickering within the government coalition with Solz’s Social Democrats but mainly with Lindner’s Liberals, he said:

“Because of the disagreements within the government and the difficult crises we had to overcome, politics seemed to us a bit more of a process. Our mission is to protect the climate but also to keep society together. This is the mission we have to fulfill.”