Green Party Congress: ready for anything

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Robert Habeck and Annalena Baerbock in the Tempodrom in Berlin, where the party conference will take place

Photo: KAY NIETFELD / AFP

Large-format photos of the two of them from previous years are hanging on clotheslines.

The wooden floor is painted gray, the walls are pure white, plants are in the room.

A hip loft in Berlin-Neukölln (self-promotion: "Take a deep breath and develop your creative potential!") Forms the backdrop for a PR interview with the Greens chairmen Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck.

They are sitting on gray chairs, with a block of wood between them that will serve as a table, and they are talking about the party's new basic program to be decided this weekend.

The party leaders have uploaded excerpts from the advertising film to their Instagram channels.

Baerbock says that one must use "the moment of change" caused by the climate crisis to live together "better and more justly".

Habeck calls for more investment in schools, libraries and playgrounds.

At the end of the video, a banner in shades of green says: "WE ARE READY."

Ready for what?

When it comes to Baerbock and Habeck: for pretty much everything.

Save the world?

Sure, of course.

Challenge the Union as the Chancellor's Party?

Logical.

Provide the Chancellor?

Naturally.

But not only that. The Greens can also do any ministry.

Robert Habeck recently answered a question from a “Welt” journalist whether the time was ripe for a green interior minister: “Absolutely.”

The main thing is to rule

The Greens are tired of the opposition role.

They want to rule, they make no secret of it.

In surveys, they have been ahead of the SPD for two years, at times they even moved closer to the Union.

According to the opinion polls, the CDU and CSU are now clearly leading again, but the Greens are expecting that something will still work.

As soon as the CDU has decided on a new chairman and candidate for chancellor.

As soon as the population feels that the Angela Merkel era is really coming to an end.

Then, so the hope of the Greens, a potential electorate will be released from which they can draw.

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Green top duo under the umbrella: finally reign

Photo: Christian Charisius / dpa

For the green top, the upcoming party congress, which is taking place digitally in compliance with corona, is not just about the basic program.

It's all about how the party presents itself.

A few days ago, Federal Managing Director Michael Kellner gave a press conference and at times sounded more supportive than the Federal President during his Christmas address.

"Every time has its color," he said.

It is the motto of the party conference and it is clear that the Greens think that the color of the present is green.

The basic program, according to Kellner, is an offer to "the breadth of society".

One does not want to be a »correction to other parties«, but »independently green«, with »leadership claim«.

The Greens have arrived in the middle of the political spectrum, that is the message.

Dispute over basic income, referendums and climate protection

The arrival in precisely that political center is not going completely smoothly.

Especially those party friends who have their roots in the peace movement, the top expects a lot.

NATO is "an indispensable part of the" European security architecture and transatlantic relations "for the foreseeable future, says the chapter on" International Cooperation ".

The fact that the UN Security Council is blocked is “a dilemma”.

The passage can be interpreted as a cautious opening for possible foreign deployments of the

even without a UN mandate.

Instead of an unconditional basic income, the top federal government advocates a »guarantee guarantee«, which abolishes the Hartz IV sanctions.

However, the grassroots base has submitted several motions

calling for a

- the green tip is not quite sure that it will win this vote.

Instead of

, the Green leadership would like to introduce "citizens' councils", in which randomly selected citizens are allowed to advise on laws.

Against this there is resistance at the grassroots level.

Parts of the federal government expect that they will not get through with their proposal.

The federal executive board absolutely wants to win a vote: This is about the core issue of the Greens,

.

The Mannheim district association wants to make the 1.5-degree target the “standard” of green policy.

The federal board warns of this.

Kellner told the "taz": "If we start reformulating the Paris goals now, we will weaken the Paris climate agreement - and with it the common fight for climate protection." «, On which the party wants to go, and thus leaves room for deviations.

Grünenspitze gives in to genetic engineering conflict

The party leadership has cleared another point of contention.

Genetic engineering critics feared that the party might

rethink

its traditionally negative attitude towards

because of new methods.

The first draft for the program said: "Research on new genetic engineering should be strengthened as well as alternative approaches that rely on traditional breeding methods."

But the critics can rest assured.

The tip does not use its original formulation, instead it is now said that genetic engineering has led to "new problems" in the agricultural sector.

"Research on alternative approaches based on traditional and ecological breeding methods" should now be strengthened.

There are still two more far-reaching motions to be voted on - one is for the party's opening to green genetic engineering, the other for an even clearer demarcation - but in this case it is likely that the federal board's motion will be accepted.

The Greens know that if they changed their attitude, they would find little support among the population.

A survey by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation came to the result in 2016 that more than 70 percent of Germans do not want to eat genetically modified foods.

But the buckling of the party leadership has a bitter aftertaste.

When they talk about climate policy, the Greens love to refer to the latest scientific findings.

But if your own clientele rebels against progress, the science-friendliness is quickly over.

Habeck emphasized in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin” nonetheless: “The research on the new genetic engineering should continue and must be expanded.” Only that will clearly not be in the program.

The points where the basis will prevail should be closely followed.

Because this will allow conclusions to be drawn for the upcoming election program.

Are the Greens remaining reasonable - or is the party still allowing itself a little utopia?

The eternal K question

Even if there are no elections at the party congress - the top staff is still under special observation.

Because if you want to govern, you also have to fill offices in the end.

Functionaries and journalists are already diligently speculating who would be available for which department, especially in the (still) most likely case that the Greens will become junior partners in a black-green alliance.

Habeck could become finance minister, was recently read in the "taz".

“Any party capable of governing should in principle be able to run and fill out the Treasury Department.

Of course, that also applies to us Greens, ”said the head of the Green Economic Advisory Council and MP Danyal Bayaz to SPIEGEL.

According to »Welt«, the Greens want to claim the Ministry of the Interior - although this claim will be difficult to enforce in an alliance with the Union.

One hears the Greens could do without the Foreign Office and thus Joschka Fischer's legacy.

But it's not there yet anyway.

The first question is: who will be a candidate for chancellor?

Baerbock or Habeck?

It will not be answered after the party congress.

The Greens want to wait until after the state elections in Baden-Württemberg in March, only then will they finally decide on a candidacy.

Until then, a vow of silence applies.

"Any form of speculation about personnel and positions is quark," says Federal Managing Director Kellner.

"We aim to lead a government from 2021, and we are now doing the technical and strategic work for that."

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