Germany: the Greens in Congress display their claims for the legislative elections in September
Germany: Annalena Baerbock (here June 6, 2021), leader of the German Greens is a candidate for the chancellery.
The legislative elections are held in September 2021. Photothek via Getty Images - Thomas Imo
Text by: RFI Follow
5 mins
In Germany, the national congress of the environmental party begins this Friday, June 11.
Three and a half months before the legislative elections, the German Greens have ambitions since they are aiming for first place and the chancellery.
They want to dethrone Angela Merkel's conservatives, especially since the latter is not running again.
The games therefore seem open.
Publicity
Read more
German environmentalists want to govern and they proclaim it loud and clear, reports our correspondent in Berlin,
Delphine Nerbollier
.
Never, in fact, in sixteen years spent in opposition, have the Greens been so close to acceding to national power.
According to opinion polls, they could obtain between 20 and 28% of the voting intentions in the legislative elections in September.
That is enough to establish itself as the second political force.
Some polls have even placed them in the first position, ahead of the Christian Democratic party (CDU) of Angela Merkel, who chose
Armin Laschet
as leader for the elections.
Annalena Baerbock in the ranks
The Greens therefore have ambitions and they should recall this at their national congress.
They should confirm Annalena Baerbock as a candidate for the chancellery.
This MP, barely 40 years old - the age of her party - and who joined the Greens in 2005 is the only woman to run for this post among the main German political parties.
This congress will be the “
baptism of fire
” for the energetic Annalena Baerbock, a serious contender for a key position in a future government coalition, according to Annette Lensing, lecturer in Germanic studies at the University of Caen-Normandy. “
The decision to choose her was made in peace, in unity. And so one of the important things of the congress will be to confirm the choice of Annalena Baerbock, knowing that so far she has been strongly supported by the base of the party. We can recall that she was confirmed with more than 97
% of the votes in 2019, during her re-election at the head of the party. So it was, again, unheard of in the history of the Greens.
"
Beyond the person of Annalena Baerbock, also arises for the Greens the question of the
“
difficult balance to find between the governmental ambition which is clearly displayed and the dissenting heritage
, explains Annette Lensing to
Anastasia Becchio
. We can formulate it differently
: it is also the confrontation between the head of the party, which is largely on the side of the "
realists
" -
of the realists
- and a more dissenting base, which it occupies more traditional positions in terms of foreign policy, for example.
"
During this congress, the “
realistic
” line of Annalena Baerbock and party president Robert Haneck could come up against that, harder, of the militants during the debates on the Green program.
Because the other stake of this congress which lasts until June 13 is to approve their campaign program with three major axes: the fight against climate change, social justice and a strong European Union.
A program of some 130 pages, specifies Jens Althoff.
According to the director of the Paris office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, certain points of this program have been the subject of numerous amendments, which testifies to the vigor of the internal democratic debate.
It's a challenge for Annalena Baerbock ...
Jens Althoff, director of the Paris office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation
Anastasia becchio
A congress that should not avoid annoying subjects.
But the legislative race has barely started and remains more open than ever.
►
Also to listen
: Does political renewal in Germany herald a real change?
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Germany
Angela Merkel