After sixteen years of opposition, the Greens had a different start in government.

Robert Habeck, party chairman and future vice-chancellor, could feel “no euphoria” in his own ranks, as he explained at the Bund-Länder forum on Thursday afternoon.

He attributed the mood of the Greens to the rampant virus.

But there is another reason for the bad mood in the party: behind the scenes there has been a tough power struggle over the past few days to fill the cabinet positions.

Helene Bubrowski

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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Rudiger Soldt

Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.

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Nobody would deny that the starting position is difficult.

Many Greens want to finally become something, some have waited a very long time for it, five ministerial posts are not many.

But that the dispute between the wings could become so violent again, even many leading Greens had not expected.

One spoke of a “relapse into the old days”, but was optimistic that things would now move forward.

“It's like with past illnesses.” But not all of them feel the cathartic effect of the conflict.

From the left wing it can be heard that the result is unsatisfactory and that in the coming days they will consider applying pressure elsewhere, for example in filling the top of the parliamentary group, in the other posts within the government and on some issues .

The left complained of a "breach of word"

After all, the party leaders managed to find a solution that the party council accepted. Power is no longer a bad word for the Greens, but a word of power is still not well received in the party. Habeck and co-chair Annalena Baerbock had to struggle for a solution for days after their first proposal for the cabinet met resistance. You originally intended to make the previous parliamentary group chairman Anton Hofreiter as well as Steffi Lemke and Cem Özdemir ministers alongside yourself. The left saw a “breach of word” in the proposal of the federal executive committee, because it was allegedly agreed that the left should occupy positions three and four in the cabinet. Many leftists in particular felt provoked by one personality: by Cem Özdemir, the Oberrealo.They definitely did not want him as environment minister.

The party has let its former chairman down a couple of times. In 2017, he was only left with the post of committee chairman, in 2019 he failed in his attempt to become parliamentary group chairman, and then despite his brilliant victory in his Stuttgart constituency, he did not get into the closer exploratory team. And now he should become a minister and oust Anton Hofreiter, a heavyweight of the left wing? When the Stuttgart-based Realos analyzed the green election result on September 26th, they didn't give Özdemir too much chance that this goal would be achievable. The Baden-Württemberg Greens agreed after the election that there had to be a green minister or a green state secretary from the southwest in the traffic light government. Three names kept coming up: Özdemir, then Franziska Brantner,the top candidate for the federal election from Heidelberg. And the defense politician Agnieszka Brugger from Ravensburg, who got astonishing election results for the Greens in the once deep black Upper Swabia, was mentioned again and again.