The German Greens endorsed the Minister of Economy as a candidate for the early elections on February 23, Robert Habeckrepresentative of a sensible, loyal and acceptable environmentalism for the conservative bloc of Friedrich Merz, leader in the polls. The environmentalists are the reverse of the medal of the liberals, causing a breakup of the coalition of Olaf Scholz which, according to German media, originated from a plot to end the government of which they were part.
Habeck received the support of 96% of the delegates, in a congress in which the environmentalist party, Scholz’s only remaining ally, supported moderation. Less than 100 days before the elections, polls place them at 10% of the votes, about five points below the Social Democrats. Merz seems unreachable, with 32%, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is predicted to have 18%.
The Green Congress opted for a ‘reform’, but not abolition, of the debt brake, despite this instrument being an obstacle to the reactivation of the German economy, according to Scholz’s advisors. They approved facilitating access to the labor market for immigrants and promoting formulas for ‘voluntary return’, instead of deportations. And they spoke out in favor of banning the AfD, something shared by members of a wide parliamentary spectrum.
Liberals, repeat bad partner
The refusal of the former Finance Minister and liberal leader, Christian Lindner, to lift the debt brake was the official cause of the coalition breakup with Scholz’s Social Democrats and Habeck’s Greens. Behind that rejection, however, there was a plan articulated by Lindner since September to, step by step, promote the breakup. Reference media, such as the newspaper South German newspaper and the weekly The timehave revealed that compromising plot.
Lindner has limited himself to commenting that it should not “be news” that the party understood that there was no way to maintain the alliance. From the social democratic ranks it has been highlighted that the plan had been drawn up in even warlike terms, since it was baptized as “D-Day” -alluding to the Allied landing in Normandy, June 6, 1944.
That the liberals have been an accommodating party, whether for governments with conservative or social democratic leadership, is a fact in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). It is also true that they have behaved like a traitorous partner. The direct precedent was the vote of no confidence that in 1982 overthrew the social democratic chancellor. Helmut Schmidtpromoted by the then leader of the conservative opposition Helmut Kohl and backed by the liberals, who had been left out of the coalition.
It remains to be seen whether these revelations will lead to the total discredit of Lindner’s party, which polls place below the 4% minimum to obtain seats. Scholz’s coalition was highly unpopular, so there may be those who defend the opportunity of “D-Day.”
Environmental errors, from the energy crisis to Gaza
Habeck began his speech to the delegates by recalling “the harsh energy crisis” precipitated by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Germany was a country “dependent on Moscow” due to “political decisions” made both during the times of the Social Democratic Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, and by the conservative Angela Merkel.
Scholz’s government had to park projects to promote renewables, since there was a fear of being left „literally in the dark or without heating“. He referred to the law promoted by his department, which sought to force the replacement of old boilers with ecologically clean heating. With inflation skyrocketing, the project plunged the entire party into unpopularity. His plan was not viable, demoting Habeck to incompetent in the eyes of the opposition.
The great political mistake of the Greens has been the staunch defense of the commitment to Israel and the panic at any criticism of the devastating war in Gaza. The attempts of the Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbockfor condemning the massacres of the Palestinian population, have been too lukewarm. Support for Israel is not questioned among German politics, due to the weight of the Holocaust. But this has cost the Greens a disconnection with the young vote. From being identified as a party of revolutionary and anti-hierarchical origins, it has come to be seen as a formation that has aged poorly.
