A black-green federal government has become more likely after this Green party conference. In the past few weeks, the party leadership has made no secret of the fact that its partner of choice is the SPD. There are also many social democratic positions in the election program adopted on Sunday, such as a higher minimum wage and the increase in the Hartz IV standard rate. But almost all of the party members' demands to stipulate even more ambitious demands for climate protection and redistribution were thrown out. The Greens thus remain “compatible” - also in the direction of the most likely coalition partner according to the current polls, the Union.
Corresponding negotiations would therefore by no means be a sure-fire success. Twelve euros minimum wage and 50 euros more Hartz IV per month are likely to encounter resistance, especially in the economic wing of the CDU / CSU. But it is also clear that after an election, usually neither party can enforce their maximum demands. A conceivable scenario is that the Greens will insist on a higher tax rate for top earners in order to waive a wealth tax. If the middle class were to be relieved as part of a comprehensive tax reform, it would be difficult for the Union to say no.
Not to be overlooked this weekend were the ambitions of co-party chairman Robert Habeck to become finance minister in a government with Green participation. Both the debt brake and the tax rate, he gave the counter-speeches. This positioning is not surprising. The experiences of the current coalition show that the influence of the finance ministry is much greater than that of the economic department. However, this party congress has not increased Annalena Baerbock's chances of becoming the next Chancellor. Her promise to put children and young people at the center of politics in the next government sounded more like applying to be minister for families. The fact that managers like Joe Kaeser and Simone Menne are promoting Baerbock as Chancellor flatters the Greens. But it will hardly be enoughto win the election.