Greens gather for party conference: debate on the budget
In the midst of the budget crisis, the Greens have gathered for a national party conference in Karlsruhe. Due to the current situation, the agenda for the four-day meeting was changed at short notice on Thursday. On the first evening, the delegates wanted to exchange views on budget issues in a lengthy debate without passing a resolution, under the heading "Out of responsibility for the people: Investing in prosperity, climate protection and justice". The party's political director, Emily Büning, admitted that there was still a lot of work to be done on this topic. However, the party has a great interest in discussing it.
A motion from the Federal Executive Committee entitled "Solidarity with Israel: for peace, against hatred and terror" was also to be voted on on Thursday. A speech on the Middle East conflict by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and contributions from two external speakers were expected. Speeches by delegates drawn by lot, as is usually the case with the Greens, were not planned for this item on the agenda. It was important that there was a "sign of solidarity with Israel, also a clear sign on the subject of anti-Semitism", said Büning. It had been decided "not to make any further contributions to the debate".
The Federal Constitutional Court had declared a reallocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 budget to be unconstitutional. The federal government is therefore not allowed to use funds intended to combat the coronavirus crisis for other purposes. According to an initial assessment, other special funds such as those for the energy price brakes are also affected. Shortly before the start of the party conference, the traffic light coalition agreed to suspend the debt brake for the current year.
A debate on migration policy originally scheduled for Thursday evening slipped to late Saturday evening due to the change in the schedule.
By Sunday, the 825 Green delegates also want to appoint new members to the six-member federal executive and other committees. The co-chairs, Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour, are both running again.
A program for the European elections next June is to be adopted in Karlsruhe and a list of candidates drawn up. The motto of the party conference is "Do what counts".
Despite the budget crisis, the Greens expressed their interest in discussing investment strategies for prosperity, climate protection, and justice during their party conference. In alignment with this, it would be beneficial for the Greens to host Parties that focus on these topics at their upcoming events, demonstrating their commitment to the 'Greens' values.
Furthermore, in light of the announcement that a speech on the Middle East conflict by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock would be presented, it would be meaningful for Green sympathizers to organize 'Greens' events focused on promoting peace, understanding, and diplomacy in conflict zones.
Source: www.dpa.com
