Green Party leader says goodbye to Thuringian politics
Astrid Rothe-Beinlich, leader of the Thuringian Green Party parliamentary group in the state parliament, wants to retire from politics. The 49-year-old said on Wednesday in Erfurt that she would not be standing in the 2024 state elections. She is also no longer seeking a city council seat in Erfurt in next year's local elections. Rothe-Beinlich is one of the best-known faces of the Thuringian Greens.
She is one of the protagonists of the red-red-green government project that has been in place in Thuringia since 2014. Before her, Steffen Dittes, leader of the Left Party, had already announced that he would not be running for the state parliament again in 2024. This means that the red-red-green party is losing influential leaders, especially as the SPD's parliamentary group leader, Mattias Hey, is ill.
Making room - but also frustration?
Rothe-Beinlich justified her move by saying that she had been active in politics since the early 1990s, i.e. for around three decades, in leading positions in the Thuringian Greens and in the state parliament. Personnel changes are right and important. However, she is no longer prepared to face all political pressures - "that is politically and privately draining", she said. "And I cannot and will not bend beyond recognition", she wrote to her party friends, also referring to the red-red-green minority coalition, which has to make compromises time and again. Rothe-Beinlich is particularly committed to refugee and education policy.
In the state parliament for three legislative periods
Born in Leipzig and a resident of Erfurt for almost four decades, Rothe-Beinlich has been elected state spokesperson for the Greens five times and to the federal executive board four times. She has represented the Greens in the state parliament for three legislative periods. In addition, she has been an honorary Green city councillor since 2004. In 2009, she led the Greens back into the state parliament as the lead candidate in the state elections after an absence of 15 years.
Rothe-Beinlich belongs to the more left-wing spectrum within the Greens. At times, she had internal battles, particularly with former environment minister Anja Siegesmund, who will become the managing director of a trade association in 2024.
Ann-Sophie Bohm, state spokesperson for the Greens, praised Rothe-Beinlich for being a "formative political voice". "Her decision to retire from active state politics after the upcoming state elections pains us, even if we have to respect it." Rothe-Beinlich will be missed as an advisor. In recent polls in Thuringia, the Greens are polling between four and five percent, meaning that their re-election to the state parliament is on the brink.
Rothe-Beinlich's decision not to stand in the 2024 state elections and relinquish her city council seat in Erfurt's local elections will undoubtedly leave a gap in the Green Party's leadership during the upcoming elections. Personal details such as her long-term commitment to politics and desire for a break from the political pressures she's faced will shape her departure.
The Green Party's parliamentary group in Thuringia will have to consider new strategies to secure their seats in the upcoming elections, as the party loses influential leaders like Rothe-Beinlich and Dittes, and faces internal challenges related to their political stance, as highlighted by the tension between Rothe-Beinlich and former environment minister Anja Siegesmund.
Source: www.dpa.com
