BERLIN, GERMANY – MARCH 15: Annalena Baerbock, co-leader of the German Greens.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Annalena Baerbock has been selected as the Green Party’s candidate to be the next German chancellor, as the country prepares for this year’s elections, where Angela Merkel will leave the political scene.
The popularity of greens has grown in recent years, and polls now have them at just a few percentage points to the detriment of Merkel’s CDU party, as more and more voters turn to climate issues.
Baerbock and Robert Habeck, co-leaders of the party, appear to have united and disciplined members that no other leadership team has done so far. And the new goal is not only to be part of the government, but maybe even enter the chancellery later this year.
The emergence of the Green Party coincided with its professionalization. It started as a protest movement and as an opposition party. It was divided to the left and a more conservative wing for many years. Although this has not completely changed, the party is now a true middle class platform.
Who is Annalena Baerbock?
Baerbock was born in 1980, near Hanover. He graduated from the London School of Economics in 2005 with a master’s degree in public international law. He has been a member of the party since 2005 and a member of the Bundestag since 2013.
During his political career, he played various roles: he was a spokesperson for climate change in the Green Parliamentary Group between 2013 and 2017 and a deputy member of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy. Some commentators compare her style and analytical approach to that of current German leader Merkel.
What is the Green Party’s program?
The Greens want to restructure Germany’s economic model into a socio-ecological system. What this means? Obviously, the emphasis is on promoting green technologies, removing coal energy by 2030 and banning cars with combustion engines on German roads by 2030. This is ambitious, given that it is only nine years away.
German industry is already sounding: “The Greens want a different society,” BDI said in a March 19 statement. “Restructuring society will be very costly for the economy and society itself, we would need a much more pro-pandemic growth policy approach for Germany. “
But the Greens are no longer a radical party, but have a plan in mind to fund their program. While the party’s program calls for easing the so-called debt brake, which would allow Germany to raise more money in public markets, they are also calling for higher taxes for the rich.
In addition, they are pushing for a € 500 billion fund over 10 years to finance this climate transition.
“This is smart political marketing for middle-class liberal voters,” Teneo’s Carsten Nickel said in a note last month.
The key question is what role the Greens will play in the next government, with elections set to take place in September. He only has outside chances to enter the chancellery, but it is not completely impossible.
If the CDU fails to get a majority alongside another party, including the Greens, then a possible left-wing SPD coalition could form in Berlin. And in this case, the next chancellor could be Baerbock.