The strange self-overestimation of Annalena Baerbock
Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock no longer wants to be Chancellor. What?!
Annalena Baerbock will not run again as the Green Party's Chancellor candidate. For many people, this simple statement was an absolute non-event. Annalena Baerbock made it anyway. And yet, urgent dispatches were still sent out about it. Why, though?
It's hard to claim that her last campaign was particularly successful, even with a historical perspective. In the five months between her nomination as the first Green Party Chancellor candidate and the federal election, she nearly halved the value of her party - from 28 percent in April polls to 14.8 percent in the election results. Between those months were a few slipped performances, an embellished resume, a hastily compiled book (originally intended as proof of higher qualifications), and above all, poor crisis management. Third place was enough to become Foreign Minister.
Why at the NATO Summit?
Baerbock is currently in Washington, where the leaders of NATO countries are gathering for the alliance's 75th anniversary. The topics include the future of the defense alliance, war and peace in Europe and the world, and the fitness of U.S. President Joe Biden. What it's not about: the top candidacy for a 11-percent German party in an election that is scheduled to take place over a year from now.
Why Baerbock had to announce her decision there, specifically in a TV interview with CNN, is at least a little vain. She could have easily dismissed the lengthy, probing question from veteran journalist Christiane Amanpour about whether she would run for Chancellor again. Like all other Greens, she had done so with great routine in recent months: ... not yet ... consult together ... at the appointed time ... end of broadcast.
The fact that Baerbock did the opposite - deliberately, both in terms of timing and location - and had to broadcast this news to the entire world, comes across at least as arrogant. Like a strange self-aggrandizement.
Annalena Baerbock has no time for a Chancellor candidacy
This suspicion arises while listening to her explanation. For she explains in fluid English that, in these "extreme times of political responsibility," being Foreign Minister means: "Instead of being tied to a Chancellor candidacy, I can continue to fully dedicate my strength to my task, building trust, cooperation, and reliable structures - for and with so many partners worldwide and in Europe, who are counting on it."
In other words: I still have to save the world. For such mundane things as a Chancellor candidacy, I don't have time. Others can take care of that, people whose job isn't as important as mine. People who have always wanted to do it and have been eagerly positioning themselves in recent months to at least be part of the media Chancellor debate. The generous woman Baerbock helps out whenever she can. If time allows.
This article first appeared on stern.de.
Annalena Baerbock's decision not to run as the Green Party's Chancellor candidate again in the Federal Election 2025 was announced during her visit to Washington for the NATO Summit. At the Foreign Office, Baerbock expressed her commitment to her role as Foreign Minister, stating that her focus remains on building trust, cooperation, and reliable structures with global partners, rather than pursuing a Chancellor candidacy. This decision has allowed Alliance 90/The Greens to explore other potential candidates for the upcoming election.
