Greens start offensive: new strategies for East Germany!

Greens start offensive: new strategies for East Germany!

In the past few months, the Greens have lost ground in East Germany, and not too scarce. In the 2023 state elections in Thuringia and Brandenburg, they failed massively, while the AfD was able to further expand its influence. In order to get out of this misery, party leader Felix Banaszak and Heiko Knopf have presented a new strategy today, which operates under the title "honest, controversial, ambilate". This initiative aims at an increased presence of the Greens in the East German federal states, such as

necessary changes

Madeleine Henfling, top candidate in Thuringia, speaks together with other members in a 23-page position paper for a "radical change of course". This document is perceived as "instructions for action" for the Greens in East Germany and demands regular Eastern congresses and the formation of a "Taskforce Ost". Overall, the authors see the election results as clear signals of political failure, especially because in the past the Greens were often only focused on urban milieus in the West, as the taz reports.

The challenges are diverse: de -industrialization and a general loss of trust in state institutions are just a few of the topics that need to be addressed. In order to counteract this, a funding program for East German talents and a minimum number of East German members in federal committees is required.

a dialogue for trust

What the Greens currently also inhibits noticeably inhibits are violent public attacks on their politics, especially in socio -political issues and the asylum question. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was confronted with critical questions about Ukraine policy at a reader forum in Chemnitz, while right-wing extremist demonstrators were against the green mood. Baerbock still received applause, which shows that a dialogue about the concerns and needs is needed on site to regain trust, so the Tagesschau .

The upcoming elections in Saxony in autumn 2024 throw their shadows ahead. Party colleagues like Olaf Meister warn that the AfD is a serious challenge for locally committed Greens. It is all the more important for the Greens, a clear and audible voice for the social concerns of the citizens: to find inside and to look beyond their core concerns, be it in education, economy or climate policy.

With a clearly defined positionality and a multi -dimensional approach, the Greens may come back to the green branch. An innovative concept and a stronger representation in East Germany could be the key to reducing the ongoing skepticism that the party experiences according to its election defeats.