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How one German region is bucking the rightwing trend by going green How one German region is bucking the rightwing trend by going green
(6 months later)
Rightwing populists are on the rise across America and Europe, and, with anti-refugee party Alternative für Deutschland expected to sweep into three state parliaments on Sunday, Germany is no longer an exception.Rightwing populists are on the rise across America and Europe, and, with anti-refugee party Alternative für Deutschland expected to sweep into three state parliaments on Sunday, Germany is no longer an exception.
One region, though, is bucking the trend. In Baden-Württemberg, the party expected to gain most from an increasingly polarised political climate is not the anti-refugee populists, but the Green party, which has been strongly supportive of Angela Merkel’s open-borders stance.One region, though, is bucking the trend. In Baden-Württemberg, the party expected to gain most from an increasingly polarised political climate is not the anti-refugee populists, but the Green party, which has been strongly supportive of Angela Merkel’s open-borders stance.
The incumbent Green state premier, Winfried Kretschmann, who has ruled in a coalition with the Social Democrats since 2011, leads the polls on 32%, three points ahead of his Christian Democrat rival – a historic upset right in the heartland of Merkel’s CDU.The incumbent Green state premier, Winfried Kretschmann, who has ruled in a coalition with the Social Democrats since 2011, leads the polls on 32%, three points ahead of his Christian Democrat rival – a historic upset right in the heartland of Merkel’s CDU.
Related: Merkel faces key test of refugee policies in German regional elections
A win in one of Germany’s richest states promises to revitalise Europe’s oldest and biggest environmentalist party, which has been wandering in electoral no-man’s land since governing the country in a coalition with the Social Democrats from 1998 until 2005.A win in one of Germany’s richest states promises to revitalise Europe’s oldest and biggest environmentalist party, which has been wandering in electoral no-man’s land since governing the country in a coalition with the Social Democrats from 1998 until 2005.
The political situation in Baden-Württemberg is topsy-turvy in more ways than one. The only thing that stands in the way of a Green triumph is the ongoing struggle of the Social Democrats, traditionally their senior coalition partners.The political situation in Baden-Württemberg is topsy-turvy in more ways than one. The only thing that stands in the way of a Green triumph is the ongoing struggle of the Social Democrats, traditionally their senior coalition partners.
Kretschmann, a white-haired former chemistry teacher with a brush cut, is seen as a closer ally to the German chancellor in the region than her own candidate, Guido Wolf, who distanced himself from Merkel during the campaign by publishing a strategy paper in praise of Austrian-style refugee caps.Kretschmann, a white-haired former chemistry teacher with a brush cut, is seen as a closer ally to the German chancellor in the region than her own candidate, Guido Wolf, who distanced himself from Merkel during the campaign by publishing a strategy paper in praise of Austrian-style refugee caps.
Kretschmann, by contrast, has said that he spent every day “praying” for Merkel since there was “no one in sight” who could lead Europe out of its current impasse if she were toppled. Conservatives have dismissed Kretschmann as Merkel’s “stalker”. A joint factory visit last Friday was cancelled at short notice. CDU members had complained that it looked like their leader was putting her weight behind the wrong candidate.Kretschmann, by contrast, has said that he spent every day “praying” for Merkel since there was “no one in sight” who could lead Europe out of its current impasse if she were toppled. Conservatives have dismissed Kretschmann as Merkel’s “stalker”. A joint factory visit last Friday was cancelled at short notice. CDU members had complained that it looked like their leader was putting her weight behind the wrong candidate.
The Baden-Württemberg Greens largely defy the traditional picture of what their party should stand for. Kretschmann may once have been a former member of the Communist party, but he is also a practising Catholic, fiscally conservative and openly pro-business.The Baden-Württemberg Greens largely defy the traditional picture of what their party should stand for. Kretschmann may once have been a former member of the Communist party, but he is also a practising Catholic, fiscally conservative and openly pro-business.
The Green’s TV campaign ad in the region opens on its lead candidate in a traditional blue overall, practising carpentry inside his workshop. The film then cuts to Kretschmann in a suit, stepping into a shiny Mercedes Benz – one brand on a list of blue-chip companies such as Bosch and SAP based in the state.The Green’s TV campaign ad in the region opens on its lead candidate in a traditional blue overall, practising carpentry inside his workshop. The film then cuts to Kretschmann in a suit, stepping into a shiny Mercedes Benz – one brand on a list of blue-chip companies such as Bosch and SAP based in the state.
Shortly after coming into office in 2011, the 67-year-old had volunteered his own state as a site for the disposal of radioactive waste – a proposal verging on sacrilege in a party that had grown out of the anti-nuclear movement.Shortly after coming into office in 2011, the 67-year-old had volunteered his own state as a site for the disposal of radioactive waste – a proposal verging on sacrilege in a party that had grown out of the anti-nuclear movement.
Even on refugees, the Green party in Germany’s south west doesn’t sing from the usual leftwing songsheet. Unlike the rest of his party, Kretschmann has supported the government’s move to tighten asylum rules for migrants from the West Balkans and North Africa.Even on refugees, the Green party in Germany’s south west doesn’t sing from the usual leftwing songsheet. Unlike the rest of his party, Kretschmann has supported the government’s move to tighten asylum rules for migrants from the West Balkans and North Africa.
The Green mayor of Tübingen has gone even further. In a recent interview with Der Spiegel, Boris Palmer called for an end to “unchecked immigration” and “Pippi-Longstocking politics”. In Baden-Württemberg, the Greens have re-interpreted the environmental movement as a decidedly centrist project.The Green mayor of Tübingen has gone even further. In a recent interview with Der Spiegel, Boris Palmer called for an end to “unchecked immigration” and “Pippi-Longstocking politics”. In Baden-Württemberg, the Greens have re-interpreted the environmental movement as a decidedly centrist project.
The fact that it works may be specific to the region. Apart from being home of the much-cited “Swabian housewife” mentality of fiscal prudence, the area has also produced many of the tech companies building Germany’s new renewable energy infrastructure. Even small communities like Schönau in the Black Forest have bought back their own grid and now run almost 100% on green energy.The fact that it works may be specific to the region. Apart from being home of the much-cited “Swabian housewife” mentality of fiscal prudence, the area has also produced many of the tech companies building Germany’s new renewable energy infrastructure. Even small communities like Schönau in the Black Forest have bought back their own grid and now run almost 100% on green energy.
But a win for Kretschmann’s Mercedes-driving Greens on Sunday would send a signal not just to his party’s headquarters, where the left-leaning Fundi wing and the centrist Realo faction live in uneasy co-existence. Other green movements in the rest of Europe, too, may seek to copy a party that is ecological only to the extent that, as a recent Spiegel article put it, “even the owner of a Porsche Cayenne won’t see a contradiction between his choice of transport mode and his decision in the voting booth”.But a win for Kretschmann’s Mercedes-driving Greens on Sunday would send a signal not just to his party’s headquarters, where the left-leaning Fundi wing and the centrist Realo faction live in uneasy co-existence. Other green movements in the rest of Europe, too, may seek to copy a party that is ecological only to the extent that, as a recent Spiegel article put it, “even the owner of a Porsche Cayenne won’t see a contradiction between his choice of transport mode and his decision in the voting booth”.