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The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
If the Greens in Germany move towards the centre, they can become a real force again
The German Green party, Die Grünen, was once the envy of its sister movements across Europe. In the spring of 2021 it was the most popular party in the country, with a predicted vote share of close to 30%. The world's press even began to ask whether the next chancellor would be Green. Fast-forward four years and you find a party in crisis: divided, out of power and stagnating at just above 10% in the polls after losing 33 seats in February's federal election. The party is now searching for a path back to the mainstream – not a moment too soon given the rapid erosion of Germany's political centre. One of the Greens' key problems is personnel. At their peak in 2021 they had two lead figures in Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, who were widely regarded as pragmatists – a prerequisite for effective government in Germany's compromise-oriented system. After the 2021 election, Baerbock became foreign minister in Olaf Scholz's SPD-Green-liberal 'traffic light coalition', and Habeck vice chancellor and minister for economic affairs and climate action. After the collapse of that government, the Greens lost a million votes and fell into fourth place in this year's elections. Key personnel are departing en masse. Habeck wants to move to Denmark; Baerbock is now president of the United Nations General Assembly. Meanwhile the entire leadership board of the party's Green Youth wing quit the party altogether. In theory, this should have opened an opportunity for a reset. The party elected a new leadership duo – Franziska Brantner, 45, and Felix Banaszak, 35 – and new Green Youth leaders: the climate activist Jakob Blasel and the self-proclaimed 'leftwing radical' Jette Nietzard. But far from being a reboot, this setup has highlighted deep internal divisions. Since the Greens emerged out of the anti-nuclear, environmental and peace movements of the 1980s and became a serious political player, there has been a rift between the party's pragmatists, known as Realos, and its fundamentalists, or Fundis. These old ideological faultlines have reappeared with a vengeance, and follow generational lines. You could practically hear the collective sigh of relief at the top of the party when Nietzard announced that she wouldn't run for the Green Youth leadership again this autumn. She has repeatedly alienated the centrist voter groups the Greens are trying to win back, appearing in clothing imprinted with the anti-police acronym 'ACAB' and the anti-capitalist slogan 'Eat the rich'. Last month she pondered whether resistance to any future government coalition containing the far-right AfD should be 'intellectual or perhaps with weapons'. Those may be positions shared by other German leftwingers, but that space on the political spectrum is already occupied by Die Linke, which has recently made gains by taking a more stridently combative position against the right. People as far to the left as Nietzard are more likely to vote Die Linke than Green. The two parties are now neck and neck in the polls, with 10-12% each. The new Green leadership is determined to resolve the party's split personality and find its way back to the centre, and to power. Banaszak wants to put clear blue water between his party and the radical left. He told the German press that 'it wasn't a secret' that he and Nietzard 'mostly held different opinions'. With her gone, the new leadership is hoping to restore a Realo-dominated party. To this end they are using the parliamentary summer recess to travel to areas of Germany where the 'atmosphere is heated', as their campaign put it, especially working-class strongholds in the industrial Ruhr region and the former East Germany. The pair were ridiculed for this initially, especially when Banaszak ensured he was photographed sitting on the floor of a train, even though German politicians have unlimited use of first class. But if the trip helps bring the Green leadership closer to Germany's political realities, it could be more than just a publicity stunt. On a recent visit to Thuringia, an AfD stronghold in the former East Germany, Banaszak was told by the teenage son of a Green mayor that 'people here think of the Greens as radical climate activists', but if they see that Green politicians can bring improvements – if 'life is breathed back into a village, roads are repaired' – then their reputation might be restored. In the West German industrial town of Duisburg, Brantner pondered whether the Greens lost young male voters by failing to offer a positive place for them. Whenever the concept of masculinity was mentioned, she suggested, it was preceded by the word 'toxic'. Such self-criticism is new and important. The AfD strategy for coming to power is to provoke a Trump-style polarisation of politics. The Greens will play into their hands if they move further to the left, abandoning the centre ground the AfD seeks to destroy. There is plenty of room for a mainstream Green party in Germany's political landscape. They could become the country's foremost centre-left force if they play their cards right, strengthening moderate politics overall. Part of their potential is that they can work with conservatives. The southern state of Baden-Württemberg has been led by the Green Winfried Kretschmann since 2011, and he is popular even with conservative voters, running a coalition with the centre-right CDU – a model that could also work on the federal level. Like it or not, there is a conservative majority in German society looking for an expression of its views on the political stage. The CDU has vowed never to work with the AfD, but this binds them to an increasingly unpopular Social Democratic Party (SPD). Adding a CDU-Green coalition to the range of options would strengthen the centre, and in doing so strengthen a democracy that is under attack. Not to mention that it would also restore environmental concerns to a political culture that appears to have sidelined them. Whether the new Green leaders can take a deeply divided party with them on their path to pragmatic progressivism remains to be seen. But try they must – not just for the sake of their own party, but for the sake of German democracy. Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian and journalist. Her latest book is Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
If the Greens in Germany move towards the centre, they can become a real force again
The German Green party, Die Grünen, was once the envy of its sister movements across Europe. In the spring of 2021 it was the most popular party in the country, with a predicted vote share of close to 30%. The world's press even began to ask whether the next chancellor would be Green. Fast-forward four years and you find a party in crisis: divided, out of power and stagnating at just above 10% in the polls after losing 33 seats in February's federal election. The party is now searching for a path back to the mainstream – not a moment too soon given the rapid erosion of Germany's political centre. One of the Greens' key problems is personnel. At their peak in 2021 they had two lead figures in Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, who were widely regarded as pragmatists – a prerequisite for effective government in Germany's compromise-oriented system. After the 2021 election, Baerbock became foreign minister in Olaf Scholz's SPD-Green-liberal 'traffic light coalition', and Habeck vice chancellor and minister for economic affairs and climate action. After the collapse of that government, the Greens lost a million votes and fell into fourth place in this year's elections. Key personnel are departing en masse. Habeck wants to move to Denmark; Baerbock is now president of the United Nations General Assembly. Meanwhile the entire leadership board of the party's Green Youth wing quit the party altogether. In theory, this should have opened an opportunity for a reset. The party elected a new leadership duo – Franziska Brantner, 45, and Felix Banaszak, 35 – and new Green Youth leaders: the climate activist Jakob Blasel and the self-proclaimed 'leftwing radical' Jette Nietzard. But far from being a reboot, this setup has highlighted deep internal divisions. Since the Greens emerged out of the anti-nuclear, environmental and peace movements of the 1980s and became a serious political player, there has been a rift between the party's pragmatists, known as Realos, and its fundamentalists, or Fundis. These old ideological faultlines have reappeared with a vengeance, and follow generational lines. You could practically hear the collective sigh of relief at the top of the party when Nietzard announced that she wouldn't run for the Green Youth leadership again this autumn. She has repeatedly alienated the centrist voter groups the Greens are trying to win back, appearing in clothing imprinted with the anti-police acronym 'ACAB' and the anti-capitalist slogan 'Eat the rich'. Last month she pondered whether resistance to any future government coalition containing the far-right AfD should be 'intellectual or perhaps with weapons'. Those may be positions shared by other German leftwingers, but that space on the political spectrum is already occupied by Die Linke, which has recently made gains by taking a more stridently combative position against the right. People as far to the left as Nietzard are more likely to vote Die Linke than Green. The two parties are now neck and neck in the polls, with 10-12% each. The new Green leadership is determined to resolve the party's split personality and find its way back to the centre, and to power. Banaszak wants to put clear blue water between his party and the radical left. He told the German press that 'it wasn't a secret' that he and Nietzard 'mostly held different opinions'. With her gone, the new leadership is hoping to restore a Realo-dominated party. To this end they are using the parliamentary summer recess to travel to areas of Germany where the 'atmosphere is heated', as their campaign put it, especially working-class strongholds in the industrial Ruhr region and the former East Germany. The pair were ridiculed for this initially, especially when Banaszak ensured he was photographed sitting on the floor of a train, even though German politicians have unlimited use of first class. But if the trip helps bring the Green leadership closer to Germany's political realities, it could be more than just a publicity stunt. On a recent visit to Thuringia, an AfD stronghold in the former East Germany, Banaszak was told by the teenage son of a Green mayor that 'people here think of the Greens as radical climate activists', but if they see that Green politicians can bring improvements – if 'life is breathed back into a village, roads are repaired' – then their reputation might be restored. In the West German industrial town of Duisburg, Brantner pondered whether the Greens lost young male voters by failing to offer a positive place for them. Whenever the concept of masculinity was mentioned, she suggested, it was preceded by the word 'toxic'. Such self-criticism is new and important. The AfD strategy for coming to power is to provoke a Trump-style polarisation of politics. The Greens will play into their hands if they move further to the left, abandoning the centre ground the AfD seeks to destroy. There is plenty of room for a mainstream Green party in Germany's political landscape. They could become the country's foremost centre-left force if they play their cards right, strengthening moderate politics overall. Part of their potential is that they can work with conservatives. The southern state of Baden-Württemberg has been led by the Green Winfried Kretschmann since 2011, and he is popular even with conservative voters, running a coalition with the centre-right CDU – a model that could also work on the federal level. Like it or not, there is a conservative majority in German society looking for an expression of its views on the political stage. The CDU has vowed never to work with the AfD, but this binds them to an increasingly unpopular Social Democratic Party (SPD). Adding a CDU-Green coalition to the range of options would strengthen the centre, and in doing so strengthen a democracy that is under attack. Not to mention that it would also restore environmental concerns to a political culture that appears to have sidelined them. Whether the new Green leaders can take a deeply divided party with them on their path to pragmatic progressivism remains to be seen. But try they must – not just for the sake of their own party, but for the sake of German democracy. Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian and journalist. Her latest book is Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990
Bloomberg
02-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Germany Gives Go-Ahead for Gas Drilling in Protected Marine Zone
Germany has given the green light for drilling as much as 13 billion cubic meters of natural gas at a protected marine site in the North Sea in a controversial step to bolster energy security. The cabinet approved a bilateral agreement with the Netherlands on hydrocarbon deposits off the island Borkum, according to a statement from economy minister Katherina Reiche. Explorer One-Dyas BV had already received approval from local authorities a year ago, but Reiche's predecessor Robert Habeck — a Green politician — had been delaying national approval due to environmental considerations.
New European
13-05-2025
- Politics
- New European
Germansplaining: The battle over free speech
Whether sparked by the refugee crisis, the pandemic, Russia's war in Ukraine or climate change, many people already describe today's Germany as GDR 2.0 – a reference to the old, totalitarian East Germany. That is absurd, but nevertheless it is a problem if an ever-larger number of people are hesitant to voice political opinions, and feel excluded from public discourse. The internet has become a playground for trolls, hate-mongers, and libel artists – and it's been out of control for ages. But what's spiralling now, among German judges and prosecutors, is something else entirely: the value placed on free speech. A few recent cases make the point. Take the 64-year-old whose flat was raided after he shared a meme of then-economics minister Robert Habeck (Greens), doctored to read Schwachkopf (half-wit) in the style of Schwarzkopf shampoo. Or the man fined €3,500 (£2,950) for a snapshot showing then-health minister Karl Lauterbach with his right arm raised. Or €1,500 (£1,260) for sharing an ironically annotated screenshot on X of trending topics with the hashtag #AllesfürDeutschland (All for Germany – a banned slogan once used by the SA, Hitler's original paramilitary group). Or this one: a suspended seven-month jail sentence and a fine of €1,500 for the editor of a far right rag that had published a photomontage of the SPD's Nancy Faeser, then interior minister, holding a sign saying 'Ich hasse die Meinungsfreiheit' ('I hate freedom of expression'). The court didn't trust the public to get the satire. And then there was the protester in Berlin with a sign reading 'Have we learned nothing from the Holocaust?' – convicted on the grounds that she had trivialised the Shoah. To be clear: I disagree with all the expressed views, in content, form or both. And yes, words matter – that's precisely what makes this debate so tricky. Years ago, I tested the responsiveness of German law myself, after a particularly nasty post about me. Had I simply been called 'the dumbest so-called journalist ever', fine. But this was a sexualised insult – clearly libellous. I filed a complaint. Here's what happened: nothing. I haven't bothered since. When politicians file similar complaints – as in most of the cases above – things can move fast, thanks to a 2021 change in our criminal code, which now penalises insulting a 'person in the political life of the people'. Wanting to shield people in a public office from abuse is understandable. Local politicians, in particular, are dropping out in droves after being hounded, online and off. But when the law hands out six-month minimum sentences for verbal offences, it starts to feel less like protection and more like Majestätsbeleidigung – lèse-majesté, modern edition. And by the way: who in their right mind would believe the interior minister actually walks around with a sign saying 'I hate free speech'? Unsurprisingly, these decisions have triggered a wave of criticism – from the public, the media, legal scholars, and politicians themselves. Because whether intended or not, they reinforce the far right's favourite narrative: that you can't speak your mind any more. Sanctions have been tightened in other areas, too. In cases of 'deadnaming' or 'misgendering', offenders can be fined up to €10,000 under the Self-Determination Act. Legal scholars think this isn't the end, yet: the coalition agreement envisages a new independent media watchdog to monitor 'fake news' and Hass und Hetze – hate and incitement. Frauke Rostalski, a criminal law and legal philosophy professor from Cologne University, recently issued this warning in Legal Tribune Online: 'The impression quickly arises that critical voices are to be silenced by criminal law means – by the very people who see themselves scrutinised by this criticism.' She doubts that those who want to make democracy and social discourse more resilient can do so by ever more criminal law interventions in freedom of expression. Rostalski argues that state interventions and individual hypersensitivities could stifle conversation and, at worst, result in 'relevant arguments being ignored, entire topics avoided, or speakers excluded from the discourse'. Many of these verdicts will probably be overturned on appeal. But the damage is done. They offer exactly what conspiracy theorists and far right influencers crave: an invitation to play the martyr. And the courts, of all places, should know better than to hand them that script.
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
New economy minister says Germany must actively seek trade improvements
BERLIN, May 7 (Reuters) - Germany must actively seek improvements in the trade outlook rather than wait for improvements, the country's new economy minister Katherina Reiche said on Wednesday. "We cannot hope that the export and import opportunities for German companies will automatically improve in the coming years, we have to take action ourselves," Reiche said after the handover ceremony with former economy minister Robert Habeck. She spoke about the importance of diversifying the European Union's trading partners with free trade agreements with countries like Chile, Mexico, Australia and India, as well as Latin America's Mercosur bloc, but she added that the United States would remain Germany's main trading partner. The European Commission is coordinating the 27-nation bloc's response to import tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, including a 25% levy on its steel, aluminium and cars and an additional 10% on almost all other goods. "Trade wars have disadvantages for both sides and that is why it is important that we reach a free trade agreement with the U.S.," Reiche said. The U.S. was Germany's biggest trading partner in 2024 with two-way goods trade totaling 253 billion euros ($287.16 billion). ($1 = 0.8811 euros)
