At the ÖDP state party conference in Regensburg, the previous chairmen Agnes Becker and Tobias Ruff were confirmed as dual leaders. Becker received 100 percent of the vote in Saturday’s election, while Ruff received 94.9 percent of the delegates. Five years ago, Becker initiated the sensational “Save the Bees” species protection referendum. This shows that the ÖDP, as a small party, is also able to trigger a movement, said Ruff.
Unlike in the state parliament, the ÖDP is represented in the European Parliament by MP Manuela Ripa. The politician from Saarbrücken is running again this year. Together with the Bavarian top candidate Michael Stöhr, she has taken up the issue of new genetic engineering. In this context, she criticized the CSU EU MPs: They opposed the Bavarian nature conservation law at the European level, with MPs voting against a labeling requirement for new genetic engineering and against an environmental impact assessment.
The ÖDP announced a petition to the state parliament. The state government should be commissioned to “defend the Bavarian Nature Conservation Act in the further parliamentary process”. A dpa query to the CSU in the European Parliament initially remained unanswered.
The ÖDP’s other topics included the expansion of renewable energy. Stöhr called for 100 percent regional supply from renewable energies by 2030. The party criticized the decision for a BMW battery plant and the associated land use in Straßkirchen and Irlbach in the Straubing-Bogen district.