The German Green Party is poised to appoint Gesine Märtens as its new treasurer, a selection process punctuated by internal debate and raising questions about the party’s internal power dynamics. Sources indicate Märtens secured the endorsement of the Federal Finance Council late Monday, with 22 votes in her favor, three abstentions and eight dissenting votes.
The appointment follows the recent resignation of previous treasurer Manuela Rottmann and highlights a period of internal maneuvering within the Greens. Märtens’s candidacy initially faced resistance from the Finance Council, comprised of treasurers from the state branches. Concerns were raised regarding her perceived closeness to the federal executive and a perceived lack of direct experience in managing party finances. These reservations suggest a degree of unease within the state branches regarding the influence of the federal leadership.
Party leader Franziska Brantner championed Märtens’s nomination, reportedly after alternative candidates failed to emerge. The ultimate shift in the Finance Council’s decision, despite the initial objections, emphasizes the influence exerted by Brantner and the federal structure in key personnel decisions. While supporters cite Märtens’s experience as State Secretary in the Saxon Ministry of Justice from 2019 to 2024 as valuable, critics might interpret the turnaround as a prioritization of political alignment over financial expertise.
Märtens, like her predecessor and Brantner, is associated with the “realpolitik” wing of the party, further contributing to a sense of continuity within the established leadership. Although her election by the party base at the Green Party convention in Hanover in November is considered a formality, the internal struggle surrounding her selection underscores ongoing tensions between the federal leadership and the state branches and raises questions about the increasing centralization of power within the environmentalist party. The episode could fuel further scrutiny regarding transparency and accountability in the Green Party’s financial management and internal decision-making processes.