The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Election of the Green Party Leader: Will Özdemir make the comeback?

2019-09-24T07:07:53.499Z


The Bundestag Greens are picking a new head - and the decision has it all: ex-party leader Cem Özdemir challenges the incumbents Katrin Göring-Eckardt and Anton Hofreiter out.



Finally it had become quiet around Cem Özdemir. In the spring of 2018 he had given up his post as party leader of the Greens. While the Özdemir in the episode in the Bundestag to transport issues and digital infrastructure took care of, sparked off with Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock others on the party leadership a personality cult, the Schwabe was never allowed to experience in his ten years as federal chairman.

But now Özdemir wants to know it again. On Tuesday afternoon, the Greens in the Bundestag vote a new fractional top. And the 53-year-old is looking for the comeback in the front row. Together with the largely unknown MP Kirsten Kappert-Gonther, he challenges the two incumbents: Katrin Göring-Eckardt and Anton Hofreiter.

Özdemir's candidacy came as a surprise to many - including Göring-Eckardt, as they recently confessed. With Hofreiter she leads the group since 2013. Both are also favorites for the upcoming vote. Although not all deputies are happy with the previous leadership duo. Especially with Hofreiter many green people quarrel.

In the previous election, both had received only about two-thirds of the vote, although they had no opponents. To dissatisfaction also contributes to the fact that in the Federal Party since the election of the new bosses Habeck and Baerbock Although there is a sense of optimism, the fraction in comparison to but little glitters.

Özdemir and Kappert-Gonther join the team

Although individual votes are made, Özdemir and Kappert-Gonther (52) have nevertheless explicitly applied as a team. Two years ago, the Swabian had thought about competing. That the Bremer goes with him into the race, also surprised, because Kappert-Gonther is only since autumn 2017 in the Bundestag. As a drug policy spokeswoman for the group, she has remained rather unremarkable at the federal level so far.

Of the two chief posts in the faction, one must go to a woman. Usually both party wings are also represented at the top. Özdemir and Göring-Eckardt (53) are among the Realos, Hofreiter (49) and Kappert-Gonther to the left. First, the two women compete against each other, then the two men. If Goering-Eckardt win, that should be the preliminary decision. In the first two ballots a majority of 34 out of the 67 votes is necessary to be elected. In the third round, the relative majority is enough.

The election of the group leaders is also considered to be so important because the Greens could become part of the next federal government - and then the leaders of the group would have a good chance to get a ministerial office.

Also choose other factions

It is also voted on by the SPD, the AfD and the FDP - although it is likely to be less exciting. At the SPD are so far only one candidate for the post of fraction leader: Rolf Mützenich, who had taken over the post after the resignation of Andrea Nahles transitional. His choice is considered safe.

In the AfD, the two presidents, Alexander Gauland and Alice Weidel, again run as a team for the top fraction. Their chances of being re-elected together are good, according to group of parliamentary groups. The FDP parliamentary party also elects the entire board as scheduled. Until Monday afternoon, however, there were no opposing candidates for fraction leader Christian Lindner and his deputies. The new election of the board of the left-wing fraction probably takes place only after the state election in Thuringia at the end of October.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2019-09-24

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-07T14:12:39.614Z
News/Politics 2024-02-15T14:10:42.793Z
News/Politics 2024-02-14T15:10:53.394Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.