Dual leadership confirmed - NRW Greens want to prove reliability: Dual leadership
The Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia are focusing on continuity in the aftermath of their poor European election results and aim to win back trust with their previous leadership. A party conference in Oberhausen confirmed the leadership duo of Yasemin Zeybek and Tim Achtermeyer for another two years in office on Saturday. Three weeks after the European election, leading Green politicians admitted to the base that lessons needed to be learned from the disappointing result.
Zeybek, the 38-year-old from Wuppertal, was elected with 81% of the votes from the approximately 260 delegates, while Achtermeyer, the 30-year-old Bonn Landtag member, received 88.5%. Zeybek performed significantly worse than in her first election as co-chair two years ago, when she received 92% of the votes. Achtermeyer, on the other hand, achieved a better result, having only received 82% in 2022. There were no opposing candidates.
Battle for Trust
The federal party will present the results of the election analysis before the parliamentary summer recess, said Green federal chairman Omid Nouripour in a guest speech. The Greens failed to make it through at the European election and needed to make their visions in areas beyond climate and environmental protection clearer in the traffic light coalition. People wanted solutions for issues related to migration and inflation as well, Nouripour said, looking at the poor election results. "We will fight our way out of this," Nouripour added.
In the European election on June 9, the Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia performed ten points worse than in 2019, receiving 13.5% of the votes. Nationwide, the party only managed to secure 11.9% of the votes. However, the North Rhine-Westphalia Greens gained around 500 new members according to party statements and now have over 27,000 members.
Deputy NRW Minister-President Mona Neubaur stated that the Greens needed to regain lost trust. In the 2022 state election, the party had won trust beyond its narrow base. The black-green state government had been working constructively in North Rhine-Westphalia for two years, emphasized the Economics Minister. The Greens were seeking solutions for everyday problems in the coalition without public disputes.
Lessons for Campaigns 2025
Co-chair Zeybek highlighted the successes of the black-green coalition in North Rhine-Westphalia in the energy transition. "We keep breaking our own records in the expansion of renewable energies, we're leaving coal in the past, we're making steel green." Zeybek also wanted to strengthen the cohesion between people and build bridges to people outside the Greens. "If Greens only talk to Greens, we will only convince those who are already convinced."
The party needed to draw lessons from the European election results for the communal and federal election campaign in the next year. In every rational decision, the Greens needed to consider how it would affect people's lives. The party also needed to be honest about what was feasible in the current situation.
From the base came criticism after the election slump. The profile of the Greens has become unclear, said a speaker. The Greens have drifted into a party that makes politics for the better-off with a pedagogical claim, she added.
No Culture War
The Greens must now prove reliability, according to the re-elected state leader Achtermeyer. Apparently, people felt that the party wanted change as an end in itself - "or even worse: a culture war," he said. However, it's not about gender for the Greens, but rather the everyday concerns of people that are decisive. Young couples fail at family planning because they can't find an affordable apartment, commuters fail at bus connections in the countryside, and parents fail at reliable daycare places.
Achtermeyer again demanded a reform of the debt brake in the Federal Republic, as the current budget rules force the country to save where it hits poorer people disproportionately hard. The rules of the debt brake are no longer in line with the situation in Europe due to the war, inflation, and geopolitical conditions. Without a loosening of the debt regulations, investments will be blocked, and the cohesion of the country will be endangered.
Ziemiak at the Greens
At his first appearance at a Green Party conference, the general secretary of the NRW CDU, Paul Ziemiak, made his debut. "It's a strange feeling for me," said the Bundestag member. "It's the first time. We don't know yet if it will be nice, but we've thought about it for a long time."
Two years after the start of the black-green NRW coalition, Ziemiak praised his coalition partners in the highest terms. He has no "Stockholm Syndrome," Ziemiak said. The term refers to hostages developing understanding or even sympathy for their captors. Ziemiak acknowledged: "You don't make it easy for us, you're very strict and hard in the matter, but in the end, when it comes to the country, you're always interested in a compromise."
From the Greens, Ziemiak received an apple tree sapling. He gave the NRW coalition partner a voucher for a generator for Ukraine, which will be transported to the country under attack by Russia through the aid organization "Blue-Yellow Cross."
Peace Protest at the Door
About 40 peace activists demonstrated in front of the event hall in Oberhausen against German arms deliveries to Ukraine and demanded negotiations. The coalition involving the Greens contributes to the dangerous escalation spiral, they criticized.
On Sunday, the delegates continued their party conference with discussions on motions. Among other things, they dealt with digitalization and simplification of administrative procedures.
Info on the Party Conference
Ziemiak expressed gratitude for the apple tree sapling he received from the Greens, adding that he would use the voucher for a generator for Ukraine through the aid organization "Blue-Yellow Cross."
Omid Nouripour emphasized the need for the Greens to clarify their visions beyond climate and environmental protection in the traffic light coalition, especially in areas related to migration and inflation.
The re-elected state leader Achtermeyer acknowledged that people felt the Greens wanted change as an end in itself or a culture war, focusing instead on addressing everyday concerns such as housing and transportation.
Throughout the European election campaigns, the Greens gained around 500 new members in North Rhine-Westphalia, bringing their total membership to over 27,000.
Lessons from the European election results must be applied to the communal and federal election campaigns in the next year, ensuring that every decision considers its impact on people's lives and acknowledges what is feasible in the current situation.
The Greens failed to make it through the European election, receiving only 11.9% of the national votes and performing ten points worse than in 2019 in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Due to the war, inflation, and geopolitical conditions, Achtermeyer demanded a reform of the debt brake in the Federal Republic, arguing that the current budget rules disproportionately affect poorer people and hinder investments in the country's cohesion.
The calls for negotiations to end German arms deliveries to Ukraine intensified as 40 peace activists demonstrated against these deliveries further escalating the conflict in front of the event hall in Oberhausen during the Greens' party conference.
At the party conference, Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia re-confirmed the leadership duo of Yasemin Zeybek and Tim Achtermeyer for another two years in office, boosting the party's aspiration to win back trust and maintain continuity in their efforts.
