The Bremen Greens top candidate Schaefer has declared her withdrawal after her party’s defeat in the general election. She is no longer available as a senator for the next legislative period.
The leading candidate of the Bremen Greens and former Senator for Mobility and Climate Protection, Maike Schaefer, has announced her resignation. She is drawing the consequences from the weak performance of the Greens in the state elections, she said at an emotional press conference, her voice sometimes trembling. In the next legislative period, she will no longer be available as a senator.
Today I have the courage to take responsibility, I am taking the consequences and am no longer available as a senator.
(Maike Schaefer)
According to the senator, the resignation was not easy. “The step hurts me personally,” said Schaefer. However, she stands by her responsibility and is ready to draw personal conclusions. She no longer allowed questions.
“Green politics with heart and soul”
The Greens politician emphasized that she pursued green politics with heart and soul. Even if the election result is disappointing, there is a “huge track record” in many areas. In times of special challenges such as climate change, changes and change are needed, “but that’s not easy”. She, too, now has to deal with a change, she added.
Schaefer had already announced on the evening of the election that he wanted to take responsibility for the defeat. According to the latest extrapolation, the Greens have lost a lot of votes compared to the last general election (-5.5 percentage points), but they are still the third strongest party in the state parliament with almost 12 percent. Before the election, Schaefer had hoped for 20 percent or more of the vote.
Abolition of the free short-term parking met with criticism
The 51-year-old Schaefer was recently criticized in the dispute over the end of the so-called “Brötchentaste”. Even Bremen’s Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) publicly stated that the button for free short-term parking at the parking ticket machine should be retained. Schaefer’s cycle path and road traffic experiments also caused a lot of criticism in the city of Bremen. At times, an otherwise four-lane street in the city center was closed to traffic. As chairwoman of the conference of transport ministers, Schaefer negotiated the Germany ticket on behalf of the federal states. This is considered one of their achievements.
Schaefer was the parliamentary group leader of the Greens in the parliament until 2019, after which the biologist, who has a doctorate, became a senator for climate protection, the environment, mobility, urban development and housing construction. At the same time she became deputy for Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD).
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