Lang sees good chances for Habeck as Chancellor candidate
Should the Greens nominate a Chancellor candidate? Green party leader Lang keeps this option open. However, it is clear to her who might be in the running. At the same time, she is working on an explanation for the poor performance of the Greens in the latest elections.
Green party leader Ricarda Lang keeps the possibility of nominating a Chancellor candidate for the next federal election open, despite the current low polling numbers. "The party system has fundamentally changed," she said in an interview with ZDF in the summer. "If only parties with 30 percent were making it, we would now have exactly one Chancellor candidate," Lang remarked, looking at the Union. "I don't think that would be good for democracy."
According to Lang, Federal Minister Robert Habeck has good chances of becoming the Chancellor candidate. The decision on this matter is still pending and will be made this year, the co-chairwoman said. However, when asked if there was anyone else besides Habeck who might be in the running, Lang replied: "I don't see anyone right now." They will choose a person to lead the campaign because they know it will help both in terms of trust and clarity. However, this decision is still undecided. A year before the election, people would not be interested in personal matters, Lang added.
Habeck is considered a clear favorite for a potential Chancellor candidacy, as Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has announced that she will not run again. With Baerbock as Chancellor candidate, the Greens received 14.7 percent of the votes in the 2021 federal election.
Lang added that the Greens could not be satisfied with their current polling numbers of 13 percent. "If we want to make politics for the breadth of the country, then it has to be more than that," she said. "And we are working on that." Regarding a possible coalition, Lang, looking at EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of the CDU, who the Greens have supported, said: "We as Greens have shown that we are reliable partners."
"We were too caught up in crisis mode"
The recent losses of her party and the gains of the AfD among young voters, Lang attributed to disappointments following the Coronapandemic. "We were too caught up in crisis mode," she said. After the pandemic, the focus shifted very quickly to the consequences of the Ukraine War for Germany - the interests of young people were neglected in the process.
"Many young people felt 'And where are we? Do we really see what we have achieved, what we have missed, and is there anything more from politics?'", Lang continued. "Corona was a more significant blow for many young people than for many adults."
At the 2021 federal election in the second Corona year, many young people had placed their hopes in the Greens and the FDP, which performed best among first-time voters. "We did not keep that promise," Lang criticized the politics of her party. Now, the needs of young people must be refocused on, Lang urged. She mentioned education policy as an example. At the European election in June, the Greens suffered significant losses, which could also be attributed to a drop in youth voter support. Surprisingly strong was the performance of the AfD in the voter group.
Lang acknowledged the party's poor performance in the latest European election, attributing it in part to a decrease in youth voter support. She highlighted the AfD's surprising strength in this voter group as a concern. Despite this, Lang remains committed to focusing on the needs of young people, particularly in education policy. Meanwhile, speculation continues about the potential Chancellor candidates from Alliance 90/The Greens, with Robert Habeck currently seen as a favorite. However, Green party leader Lang has not ruled out other possibilities and is waiting for a decision to be made this year.
