The Greens around co-party chairman and Chancellor candidate Baerbock pushed into the Chancellery.
In the polls, however, the party has been slipping for weeks - where is the trend reversal coming from?
Berlin / Munich - The Greens want to be a party for optimists.
Even if global warming and the extinction of species give little cause for joy.
Nevertheless: The Greens around their leadership duo Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck are full of zest for action in their campaign for the upcoming federal election.
With slogans such as “Our country can do a lot, if you let it” or “Economy and climate without a crisis”, the environmental party is campaigning for voters.
On another poster, the Greens promise "Trains, schools, the Internet - a country that simply works".
In order to be able to introduce their demands, the Greens are largely dependent on a successful federal election campaign.
But they stumble in the race for chancellorship.
Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock in particular comes into focus.
Greens in the Bundestag election campaign: approval ratings in decline
In May, the Greens were able to look forward to outstanding poll results. According to a Forsa survey on May 12, 27 percent of Germans would make their cross with the Greens. Baerbock, Habeck and Co. outstripped the Union (24 percent), the climax was reached. Since then, the poll trend for the Greens has been pointing downwards. Temporary low point: The Insa survey of July 10, which gave the Greens 17 percent. For the first time since March it had fallen below the 20 percent mark. A few months ago, the victory over the Union still seemed realistic, so the Greens are now threatened by the SPD, which also achieved 17 percent in the same survey.
Some political observers make Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock a scapegoat for her election campaign, political competitors jump to the side of the ailing Greens co-chairmen.
Can the Bundestag election campaign still be saved for the Greens?
Annalena Baerbock stumbles over her book, additional income and curriculum vitae during the election campaign
"We stand for a new departure together with our top duo Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck," emphasized Federal Managing Director Michael Kellner at the presentation of his party's election campaign on July 12th. The Greens are setting sail for the 2021 federal election campaign - and want to leave the controversies about their co-chair behind them. In May, the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag hit the headlines. MPs had enriched themselves with dirty mask deals, party withdrawals were the result. Actually the perfect opportunity to attack the ruling party. But the Greens had to explain themselves.
Annalena Baerbock failed to report additional income from 2018 to 2021 to the Bundestag in due time. The carelessness is in no relation to the illegal mask deals of the Union MPs, but for political competitors it is a godsend. The faux pas marked the beginning of a chain of errors that pushed the Greens into the polls.
In the months that followed, Baerbock's résumé came into focus. She posted false information on her official website. For example, it could be read that she was a member of the UN refugee agency UNHCR, although this organization does not accept any individuals. Baerbock admitted mistakes, but at the start of the hot federal election campaign, Annalena Baerbock published the book “Jetzt. How we renew our country ”. Allegations of plagiarism by Austrian media lawyer Stefan Weber followed promptly. In an
interview with the
SZ,
Baerbock was
clear: "Looking back, it would certainly have been better if I had worked with a list of sources," emphasized the Green politician. But then the debate boiled up - even with unfair means.
Annalena Baerbock under attack - Gabriel and Seehofer jump in the Green boss
But Baerbock is not only facing headwinds because of his own mistakes - but also from lobby groups from the economy.
Just at the party congress, the “Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft” placed an advertisement in which the candidate for Chancellor is shown in the garb of Moses - next to it read: “Annalena and the ten prohibitions”.
Former political competitors such as Horst Seehofer (CSU) and Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) sided with Baerbock after persistent and unobjective criticism.
“I think that's just exaggerated,” Seehofer told the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
.
But the ongoing debates have left their mark. Olaf Scholz and Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet are currently more popular. In the “Sunday trend” of July 11, both came to 19 percent approval ratings, Annalena Baerbock improved slightly to 15 percent. The approval ratings will probably shift again until the general election on September 26th. The direction in which the Greens are headed is primarily in Annalena Baerbock's hands. (
dpa / AFP / jjf
)
