German Green Party Leaders Resign After Crushing Election Defeats

The co-leaders of Germany’s Green Party, Omid Nouripour and Ricarda Lang, announced their resignation on Wednesday, September 25, following a series of disastrous election results. This significant leadership shake-up comes in response to the party’s declining popularity, particularly in regional elections held in the eastern states of Brandenburg and Saxony, where the Greens were ejected from state parliaments. In Brandenburg, the party managed just 4% of the vote, a sharp decline from their previous standing, failing to surpass the 5% threshold necessary for parliamentary representation.

Nouripour, addressing the media, described the current situation as "the deepest crisis our party has faced in a decade," citing the party’s inability to maintain voter support despite being part of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition. Lang echoed these concerns, acknowledging that their decision to step down was made "out of conviction" that new leadership is essential for the Greens to regain voter trust and relevance​.

#Germany: Woman journalist punched in the face by pro-Israel demonstrator during a counter-protest supporting former Green Party MP Volker Beck in Berlin. Caught on video, she also received death threats from another demonstrator. Shockingly, the police failed to intervene… pic.twitter.com/eM7CtgkSNk

— #WomenInJournalism (@CFWIJ) September 23, 2024

The leadership’s resignation is a major blow to the Greens, who have been struggling to appeal to voters beyond their core environmental base. Despite once commanding considerable support, particularly during the 2021 federal election, the party has seen its national polling numbers drop significantly. Currently, they are polling around 10%, a marked decrease from the 15% they received in the last national election​.

The crisis for the Greens deepened in June, during the European Parliament elections, when they saw similarly poor results. Voters increasingly shifted their attention away from environmental issues like climate change, which is the Greens' central platform, and turned instead to concerns over immigration, security, and the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine.

Green Party in Germany. pic.twitter.com/BDwxxe4Tie

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) September 23, 2024

The Green Party’s push for an ambitious energy transition, including policies like replacing gas boilers with heat pumps, has faced backlash, with some voters, particularly on the right, viewing these policies as overreach​.

The internal dynamics of Germany’s ruling coalition have also contributed to the party’s difficulties. Tensions between the Greens, Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD), and the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) have regularly surfaced, particularly on fiscal and energy policy. These disagreements have resulted in a perception of government dysfunction, further damaging the Greens’ credibility. A recent contentious issue involved how to allocate €9.9 billion originally earmarked for an Intel chip factory. Disputes over spending priorities between Green Economy Minister Robert Habeck and FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner have only deepened the coalition’s challenges​.

The Greens now face the task of rebuilding their image ahead of the next federal election, with a new leadership team expected to be elected in November. While no official candidates have yet come forward, there is speculation that Franziska Brantner, a state secretary in Habeck’s ministry, could be among those vying for the top job. Regardless of who takes over, they will inherit a party at a crossroads, facing an uphill battle to regain voter confidence​.

As the party undergoes this transition, the broader political ramifications remain uncertain. With Germany’s coalition government already under strain and facing numerous domestic and international challenges, the Greens’ internal turmoil could have ripple effects on Chancellor Scholz’s ability to maintain a functioning government.