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The Greens have recognized that if they want to continue to have political influence in the future, they have to move to the center. This comes at the expense of fundamental green issues and requires bitter compromises, he says Oliver Neuroth.
The Greens have recognized that if they want to continue to have political influence in the future, they have to move to the center. This comes at the expense of fundamental green issues and requires bitter compromises.
There is only one way for the Greens to continue to have something to say politically: they have to move to the center. Away from the one-issue party. Less eco, more mainstream. And therefore potentially more voters.
This is exactly the path the Greens want to take after this party conference in Karlsruhe – that became clear after the debate about asylum policy. The party has decided to stick to the line of the traffic light coalition when it comes to migration policy, which wants to tighten the current asylum rules. A motion by the Green Youth against it was rejected. That was a good thing.
Because the application would probably have had the consequence that the Greens would have to leave the federal government. If no Green minister is allowed to agree to further stricter migration rules, cooperation with the SPD and FDP would be impossible.
In the Government policy move something
Even if the work in this alliance requires the Greens to make countless, bitter compromises, they can at least add something of their signature to the government’s work. And move more than from the opposition.
The Greens are also surprisingly open about the so-called CCS technology. For years they had vehemently rejected the technology that stores CO2 underground. Some experts warn of possible environmental damage. Nevertheless, the Greens support CCS in their European election program without debating it at the party conference. The party is making it clear: We are open to innovations, moving forward and do not put ecological concerns above everything else.
The idea is not new
The idea of opening up to the political center is not new for the Greens. When Robert Habeck was still Environment Minister in Schleswig-Holstein, he already had plans to do this. According to the motto: keep an eye on the big picture, don’t get caught up in endless arguments and maybe even get into the Chancellery.
As is well known, this plan failed. But leading Greens don’t want to give up the idea. The party conference also makes this clear.
Playful with part of the middle
But whether the path to government responsibility will work again after the federal election next year is anything but certain. The Greens have lost their way with part of the political center. This is what the surveys and election results in Hesse and Bavaria show. The heating law and other political mistakes made by the party are to blame.
Nevertheless: The Greens only have one option to avoid sinking into insignificance at some point. They need to court the center again. This means that you might alienate the fringes of the party who are fighting for fundamental green issues. This means you have fewer unique selling points. But power options.