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Homegermany engine of europeHow Germany's Greens could fill a political vacuum left by Merkel

How Germany’s Greens could fill a political vacuum left by Merkel

  • Germany's political establishment has been in a state of flux for several years, arguably since Chancellor Angela Merkel announced in 2018 that she would not run for a fifth term in office.
  • Since then, new political trends have emerged in the country.
  • The Green Party is a beneficiary of new voter trends.

In this article

The good old days: Members of the German Greens party, including co-leader Annalena Baerbock (C) and local candidate Katharina Fegebank (C-L), react to initial exit polls that give the Greens 25.5% of the vote in Hamburg city elections on February 23, 2020 in Hamburg, Germany.Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Germany's political establishment has been in a state of flux ever since Chancellor Angela Merkel announced in 2018 that she would not run for a fifth term in office.

Since then, amid constant speculation over who will be the next leader of Germany, new political trends have emerged in Europe's largest and most influential economy.

The Green Party, for instance, has grown in popularity among liberal, middle-class voters, benefitting from a shift in voters away from the political mainstream, and a more environmentally-conscious electorate.

Recent voter polls and several state elections show that support for the Greens has risen to such an extent that it could become instrumental in forming the next government after a national election in September.

Four polls conducted in mid-April in Germany put support for the party between 20-22%, making the Green Party the second most popular party after Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU alliance.

This center-right political group, made up of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, has been dominant in German politics for years. But support for the alliance came in around 28-31% in the same polls this month.

Germany's political direction could become clearer this week as the Greens and CDU/CSU announce which candidates they will put forward to run for chancellor. On Monday, the Green Party confirmed that Annalena Baerbock will be its candidate for the next German chancellor.

Jürgen Trittin, member of the Bundestag and former leader of Germany's Green Party, told CNBC that Baerbock's candidacy was a "historic decision" and a new chapter for the party.

"Now, for the first time, this (election) race takes place between the Green Party on one side and the conservatives on the right side," he said. Trittin said he believed Baerbock would be supported broadly by the party as whole.

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