The Co-Chairmen of the German Green Party, Franziska Brantner and Felix Banaszak, have called on their party to refocus on the reality of people’s lives in their future politics. In a guest article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, they lament that the party has often lost sight of this perspective in recent years.
The party’s time in government was marked by an “administrative curse” which led to a disconnect between the Greens’ ideals and the daily lives of citizens, the co-chairmen argue. They cite the example of the party’s economic minister, Robert Habeck, whose heating bill proposal faced broad resistance, as well as the family minister, Lisa Paus, whose plan to create new positions for a child basic income was met with criticism.
While the co-chairmen acknowledge that climate and nature protection remain the key issues of our society, they emphasize the need for a politics that mobilizes support rather than sparking resistance. To achieve this, the party must be transparent about the challenges it faces and acknowledge the realities of people’s lives before seeking to change them.
The co-chairmen propose that the party adopt a politics of honesty and empathy, which requires engaging with people in various settings, from the kitchen table to the marketplace. Their article is a contribution to the ongoing debate within the party about its future direction, which is taking place amidst a recent decline in public support and leadership changes, including the departure of Annalena Baerbock to the UN General Assembly and speculation about the exit of Robert Habeck from the Bundestag.