The newly elected leadership of the Green Youth is pressing for increased influence and support ahead of the party’s upcoming convention in Hanover, signaling a potentially turbulent period for the German Green Party. In a statement to T-Online, Luis Bobga, one of the co-chairs, emphasized the need for meaningful engagement, rather than mere platitudes. “The exchange with the party must not stop at nice words. We need to be heard” he stated, underlining the youth wing’s considerable weight with its 19,000 members.
Bobga’s sentiment was echoed by co-chair Henriette Held, who highlighted a lingering sense of mistrust hindering collaboration between the Green Youth and the established party. “You still notice in the cooperation with the party that there was a breach of trust in the past” Held explained, articulating a desire for the Green Youth to be recognized as allies, not adversaries.
The call for change comes amidst lingering questions surrounding the Green Party’s identity following its time in a coalition government. Bobga criticized the compromises necessitated during the “traffic light” coalition, arguing that the party now possesses the freedom to adopt clearer stances on contentious issues such as rent control and mandatory military service.
Held further criticized the party’s current approach to opposition, describing it as still “in a phase of finding its way” and lacking the strength to effectively challenge the government’s agenda. She urged the Green Party to move away from the perception of being a “compromise party” advocating for a bolder public voice on core issues.
The Green Youth’s platform makes several pointed demands, linking the climate crisis directly to socioeconomic inequality. They are calling for the reinstatement of the subsidized “Nine-Euro-Ticket” for public transport and the introduction of a “Climate Solidarity Levy” a tax specifically targeting high-net-worth individuals to contribute to the necessary ecological transformation.
The current leadership’s ascendance follows a period of internal turmoil. Last year, the entire former Green Youth board resigned en masse, citing irreconcilable differences with party leadership. The departure of the previous chair, Jette Nietzard, after a period of publicly confrontational engagement, has left the party navigating a new dynamic within its youth wing and the convention in Hanover will prove pivotal in determining whether the party can reconcile the demands of its younger members with its broader political strategy.