German Greens Leader Criticizes Rivals Ahead of Parliamentary Vote
German Greens leader Franziska Brantner criticized her rivals, CDU leader Friedrich Merz and CSU leader Markus Söder, ahead of a parliamentary vote on Tuesday. Brantner’s comments were made to the Mediengruppe Bayern newspapers.
Brantner stated that her remarks were not about personal affections, but about the country. She brought up Söder’s past comments, in which he described Russian President Putin as not being an enemy of Europe, saying, “What a misadventure in German politics.”
Friedrich Merz, in turn, accused Brantner of displaying beunruhend behavior, saying, “One can draw two conclusions: either Friedrich Merz genuinely believed he could bring our defense and infrastructure up to speed with a magic wand, without massive additional funds. Then his analytical abilities would be lacking. Or he knew better, but kept it hidden for electoral reasons to become Chancellor. Both are disconcerting and concerning.”
Despite the criticism, Brantner expressed confidence that the Greens would vote solidly on Tuesday, citing the success of their central points, including financial solidity, aid for Ukraine, a broader and modern concept of security and climate protection.
The Greens, according to Brantner, will closely monitor how the “Kleiko” (a coalition of CDU, CSU and SPD) will disburse the funds from the climate and transformation fund. She mentioned that the Greens had previously seen the CDU, CSU and SPD agree to climate neutrality by 2045, but then failed to take action. Brantner stated that the Greens will now closely examine whether the Kleiko will again resort to excuses, saying, “There will not be a lack of funds for climate protection, that is for sure.