Silent winners - the Greens in Berlin prefer to celebrate quietly after the NRW elections

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Greens top candidate Mona Neubaur and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (in the election campaign): The party is deliberately canceled

Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa

The Greens in the Bund, they don't party.

While the party members in Düsseldorf cheered exuberantly, the Greens limited themselves to a TV statement by their co-chairman Ricarda Lang in the office - "due to the pandemic", according to the reasoning.

Like right now?

The Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia have almost tripled their result from 2017, they can choose with whom they want to govern in Düsseldorf in the near future - and the leadership of the federal party could, with some justification, see this as confirmation of their course, their policies.

But in Berlin-Mitte it remains quiet, even if Ricarda Lang is in a pretty good mood.

It's not a party here on a Sunday evening.

The federal office would not have been an appropriate location anyway.

For months there has been a large excavation pit in what was once a secluded inner courtyard, with a large heap of sand next to it.

Michael Kellner, former national director of the party, is said to have said: First they want to rebuild the office, then the country.

There's a bit of green hubris in there.

But the sentence is also good as an explanation for the quiet enjoyment on this election night.

The Greens still have plans for the next few years, too loud sounds would be inappropriate.

Something like that only calls the competition onto the scene.

In any case, in North Rhine-Westphalia the Greens are now allowed to say again that they are already a people's party.

The result shows "that people perceive that we have up-to-date answers," says RIcarda Lang.

"And that shows that they want to see us in government in North Rhine-Westphalia."

The only question is with whom.

The party leadership is keeping a low profile.

“We were elected on a course of independence.

It's about our own result, our potential," Lang told ZDF.

She may still get away with the statement on election night.

But the morning after, the world becomes a little more complicated.

Just don't get too excited

A coalition with the CDU could certainly have charm for the Greens.

They could practically dictate the conditions to Hendrik Wüst, demand pretty much anything they want – after all, they have an alternative and could also govern with the SPD and FDP.

The traffic light in NRW would have two major advantages:

• First of all, the Greens would not back Friedrich Merz, the man who is currently making life difficult for the traffic light alliance in the federal government.

• Secondly, the traffic light could secure six seats in the Bundesrat.

But how realistic is the traffic light on the Rhine?

"Of course, the runner-up can also negotiate a government," said SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert on election night.

However, that doesn't quite fit with how Robert Habecks commented on Daniel Günther's success in Schleswig-Holstein last weekend: "People want Daniel Günther and the Greens in government." Not even Habeck, with his concentrated rhetoric, should be able to justify that why should it be different in North Rhine-Westphalia, why should Thomas Kutschaty, who lost the election, form the government here?

Habeck's interest should be different anyway.

If the Greens actually want to reach for the chancellorship in 2025, they must not become an appendage of the social democrats again, their natural partner in government, as they used to be.

To do this, they have to be involved in as many different alliances as possible – also to signal to conservative swing voters: look, we can't just be left-liberal.

If Habeck wants to become chancellor, he will need such voters.

It must be in his interest to let the Greens remain a bit unpredictable.

Or, as the Greens like to put it: independently.

Things did not start well for the Greens in government.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock came into office badly injured, Family Minister Anne Spiegel had to resign, but the tide seems to have turned.

Baerbock is now in great shape, and the green drumming for arms deliveries to Ukraine does not appear to have harmed the party among voters.

So it is quite possible that the Greens will now appear a little more self-confident in the federal government, also towards the FDP, which thwarts many green projects with their budgetary policy and their Transport Minister Volker Wissing.

However, the Greens will not endanger the peace in the traffic light.

It should last until 2025.

Then it's about the Chancellery, then the Greens really want to celebrate in Berlin.

Then it should be loud here too.

At least that's the plan.