Cramme-Hill and Bunjes are new green country leaders
Created: 03/12/2022Updated: 03/12/2022 8:04 PM
Natalie Cramme-Hill (l) and Paul Bunjes pose with bouquets of flowers as the new state chairmen.
© Harald Tittel/dpa
The separation of office and mandate has required a new Greens leadership in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Because of Corona, the election was postponed for more than three months - and now it took place digitally.
Idar-Oberstein - The Rhineland-Palatinate Greens have a new top duo: Paul Bunjes (27) from Kaiserslautern and Natalie Cramme-Hill (35) from Trier were elected on Saturday at the state party conference in Idar-Oberstein.
The digital election still has to be confirmed by postal vote by March 31st.
123 of 194 delegates voted for the farmer Bunjes, and 68 delegates voted for his challenger, the spokesman for the Green Youth Benjamin Buddendiek from Mainz.
There was one vote against and two abstentions.
Cramme-Hill had previously voted for 155 of the 187 delegates.
16 each abstained and voted no.
The district chair had no opposing candidate.
55-year-old Birgit Meyreis was re-elected treasurer with 149 out of 173 votes.
She also had no opponent.
At 27, Bunjes is one of the youngest Green state leaders ever.
Only Daniel Köbler was the same age when he was elected to this office in 2008, as the party announced.
The trained farmer said in his application speech that he wanted to achieve a “sustainable double-digit result” for the Greens.
People must also be reached beyond ecological issues, for example with social and societal issues.
Bunjes is currently writing his thesis as an organic farming student.
He was a personal assistant for agriculture and viticulture for Jutta Blatzheim-Roegler, a member of the state parliament.
In the coalition negotiations for the second traffic light government, he was a member of the specialist group for business, transport, agriculture and viticulture.
Bunjes wants to mediate between the generations and raise the profile of the Greens.
Cramme-Hill is a trained biological-technical assistant and chemical laboratory technician and is also the "mother of two little boys".
She works in the city administration of Trier and wants to make local public transport more affordable.
She is also committed to a green school policy.
"There is no school inclusion," she criticized in her application speech before the election.
In addition, she attaches particular importance to energy policy and "targeted, respectful communication" between the Greens in rural areas, in Mainz and in Berlin.
more on the subject
Natalie Cramme-Hill elected Green State Chairwoman
Three applicants for the Greens state presidency: Anne Spiegel is coming
Passion, morale and Kalajdzic: VfB are back
The principle of the Greens of separation of office and mandate required the new election.
The previous state chair Misbah Khan was elected to the Bundestag.
Its co-chairman, Josef Winkler, is a member of the new state parliament.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Katharina Binz said in farewell to Khan: "You are a relevant voice in the political debate" and "will keep the Bundestag quite busy".
The former state chairwoman and MEP Jutta Paulus praised the cooperation with Winkler: "No matter how big the waves are.
Josef was always there and stood like a bank.” dpa