Youth Wing of Green Party Revamps Leadership and Voice Criticisms
After a disappointing election outcome for the Greens in the eastern region, the youth wing's leadership team resigned collectively and distanced themselves from the party. Their departure paved the way for a new leadership duo, Jakob Blasel and Jette Nietzard, who began their tenure with strong criticism of the federal party.
During the federal congress of the party youth in Leipzig, Jakob Blasel, 24, was elected as the new chairperson with 74.6% of the votes. Previously, Jette Nietzard, 25, had won with an impressive 84.5%. In their respective speeches, the co-chairs focused on key issues such as climate protection, a compassionate asylum policy, and social justice. They also targeted the federal party for criticism.
Blasel is a law and environmental science student in Lüneburg and a prominent figure in the Fridays for Future movement. He lamented the fact that social justice is minimized within the traffic light coalition and called for a more comprehensive and progressive energy transition and railway policy. "Regardless of the godless compromises the traffic light coalition considers appropriate, or how much they expect us to just accept them," he asserted, "we will not look away."
Jette Nietzard works as a social worker for German Children's Aid and has been active in the Berlin Greens, advocating for refugees. In response to criticism from federal government officials regarding the need for limits and the need to deport more people, she passionately retorted, "We don't need limits; we need human dignity!"
Despite disappointment in the traffic light coalition, she declared, "We're not finished here yet." Speaking directly to the federal party, she stated, "You're also contributing to the mess." Her expectation was for the party to avoid easy compromises and instead focus on defending human rights, climate protection, and social justice.
Svenja Appuhn and Katharina Stolla, the former chairs, resigned and left the party, citing a lack of left-wing orientation and excessive compromises within the traffic light coalition. At the federal congress, they announced their intention to leave the Green Youth and establish a "new, explicitly left-wing youth organization."
At the Party Congress, Jakob Blasel and Jette Nietzard, the new leadership duo, criticized the federal party for their approach towards social justice and energy transition. Following their resignation, Svenja Appuhn and Katharina Stolla expressed their plans to establish a new, left-wing youth organization due to perceived issues with the party's left-wing orientation and compromises within the traffic light coalition.
