The Greens kick off a very delicate party conference

The Greens kick off a very delicate party conference

For four days, the Greens want to discuss their course, confirm their party leadership in office and finalize their programme and candidates for the European elections. The mammoth party conference coincides with the next major traffic light crisis. The party must move closer together, but the internal centrifugal forces are growing.

Two years is a long time even outside of politics, but for the Greens, the small party conference at the end of November 2021 must seem like an eternity ago. After an exhausting parliamentary election campaign, the minimum goal of government participation had been achieved and there was plenty of pride, jubilation and a spirit of optimism at the federal-state council in Berlin's Westhafen. The only thing that dampened the mood at the time was Anton Hofreiter's slight when he was surprisingly denied a ministerial post in favor of Cem Özdemir. Otherwise, it was all sunshine and roses.

All that will be far away when more than 800 delegates arrive in Karlsruhe this Thursday for the four-day national party conference, traditionally known in the party as the Federal Delegates' Conference. The compromises, defeats and mistakes the Greens have had to overcome since coming to power are no small feat. An incomplete list:

• the embarrassing departure of Federal Minister for Family Affairs Anne Spiegel
• the positioning as the most vocal advocate of arms deliveries to Ukraine within the traffic light system and support for a robust upgrade of the Bundeswehr, including the purchase of combat drones
• the extension of nuclear power and the reactivation of coal-fired power plants
• the construction of liquefied natural gas import portsin environmentally sensitive locations
• the dispute over coal mining and the village of Lützerath
• Disputes with forest squatters close to the Greens in Hambach Forest and Dannenröder Forest
• Defeats in the state elections in Saarland, Bavaria, Bremen and Hesse
• the (self-)dismantling of Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck in the dispute over the heating law
• a tightening of EU asylum policy supported by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock
• fierce headwind against Lisa Paus' basic child protection scheme

Short-term program change

And now numerous climate projects that have been painstakingly worked on are also under threat because the three-party coalition is running out of money following the debt brake ruling. Even the end of the government is on the cards. The extent to which the budget crisis is preoccupying the party is also shown by a last-minute change to the party conference program: the debate on the current situation was brought forward from the night to early Thursday evening just a few hours before the start of the meeting. Among other things, Habeck will speak and reassure the delegates that the loss of 60 billion euros in the Climate and Transformation Fund does not mean the end of the German government's climate targets.

A second, potentially even wilder debate has been postponed from late Thursday to late Saturday as part of the restructuring: the debate on the Federal Government's asylum policy in Germany and Europe. A compromise on this topic could only be reached with difficulty at the small party conference in June. Now, the Green Youth wants to table a motion to ensure that their party rejects any tightening of asylum laws. In addition, an incendiary letter is circulating that denies the federal ministers the right to pursue green policies at all. Just over a thousand signatures under the pamphlet are not a small number, but this must be seen in relation to the party's membership of more than 125,000.

Balancing act between Karlsruhe and Berlin

At the same time, the party leadership wants to apply for a second term of office, the European election program is to be finalized and the list of European election candidates elected. The Federal Delegates' Conference is a double party conference. Federal Managing Director Emily Büning has given preference to the mammoth four-day program over a second date for a separate European party conference. This saves money, but also costs everyone involved a lot of energy and discipline, not least the federal ministers, who are currently in demand in Berlin - especially Habeck - and the world, where Baerbock has to deal with one Middle East appointment after another.

But the federal ministers cannot afford to be absent for long periods in Karlsruhe, where the Greens held their founding party conference in the town hall 43 years ago. Baerbock and Habeck, the former stars of the party, are no longer unchallenged internally either. They have to be present, working behind the scenes to ensure that the centrifugal forces do not become stronger.

The federal chairmen Omid Nouripour and Ricarda Lang have already lowered their expectations of their own election results to be on the safe side. When they stand for a second term in office on Friday, nothing new can be expected from them in terms of content. Unperturbed, the party leadership wants to position the Greens as a political force of the center, while for months they have been unable to come up with a coherent answer as to how the Greens could shake off the image of an elitist party of prohibition.

The fact is that the party is polarizing public opinion more than ever. The number of people who can imagine voting for the Greens is currently so low that the party might as well save itself the difficult decision of whether to send Habeck or Baerbock into the chancellor's race in 2025.

Baerbock and Habeck leave party council

Speaking of saving money: Both ministers, as well as parliamentary group leaders Katharina Dröge and Britta Hasselmann, have decided not to seek re-election to the party council, a kind of extended executive committee. This means that none of the publicly influential federal Green politicians would hold a party function any more. Although this fits in with the separation of office and mandate beloved by many Greens, it is unusual to this extent. With this step, the party headquarters wants to open up the 16-member committee to more people from different levels.

How this de facto devaluation will be received in the party is likely to be seen in Karlsruhe. The Green leadership now officially makes all important decisions in an informal group of six consisting of Baerbock and Habeck, Lang and Nouripour as well as Dröge and Hasselmann. The only Green Minister-President, Winfried Kretschmann from Baden-Württemberg, is also involved on an irregular basis. Conveniently, this means that the two most important Green politicians also escape an evaluation of their work by the grassroots. The re-election of Büning, Lang and Nouripour is therefore the only frustration valve for the grassroots in a personal election.

Kretschmann, the veteran and host in Karlsruhe, has the role of closing speaker on Sunday. He will then either gloss over the boiling frustration as proof of a lively debate culture or invoke the once again formed stronghold. The latter is much more likely in view of the numerous attacks on the party from outside. After all, even advocates of a more consistent climate protection policy and a more liberal immigration policy are aware of this: There is no other representation of political relevance for their concerns in Germany than their own party - especially not if the once so acclaimed traffic light coalition were to break up after just two wild years.

1. Despite the internal centrifugal forces growing, the Greens, led by Federal Managing Director Emily Büning, are aiming to secure another term in office at the party conference in Karlsruhe.
2. Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour, the party chairmen, have tentatively accepted that they may not receive substantial votes during their election for a second term in office.
3. Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, former party stars, are now facing internal challenges and must maintain unity to prevent centrifugal forces from growing stronger.
4. The coalition government's budget policy has come under strain due to the debt brake ruling, threatening climate projects and raising the specter of an early government collapse.
5. The Green Youth is preparing to propose a motion at the conference rejecting any tightening of asylum laws, following a difficult compromise at the previous small party conference.
6. Katharina Dröge and Britta Hasselmann, as well as Baerbock and Habeck, have chosen not to stand for re-election to the party council, due to pressure to diversify the 16-member committee.
7. Winfried Kretschmann, the only Green Minister-President, closes the conference by attempting to assuage grassroots frustration or reaffirm the party’s stronghold, especially in light of external attacks on the traffic light coalition.

Source: www.ntv.de