German Greens’ Left Wing Demand a Course Correction After Election Defeat
Representatives of the left wing of the German Greens, who suffered a defeat in the recent election, are calling for a course correction within the party. The Federal Government’s Queer Commissioner, Sven Lehmann, told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” that the party had expected a better result. Although the Greens suffered the smallest losses among the governing coalition parties, Lehmann expressed particular concern over the strong shift of voters to the Left Party. “This must be discussed internally” he said. “The result is a clear mandate for us to strengthen our profile as a social human rights party again.”
Karoline Otte, a Bundestag member and coordinator of the party’s left wing, told the RND that the election result cannot be accepted as is. “We Greens must not be satisfied with the smallest losses among the governing coalition parties” she said. “The election result shows that many people in Germany are seeking a credible politics to the left of the center. We Greens must process this conclusively.