parties
Youngest German MEP resigns
Young people know the politician Malte Lenz Gallée from TikTok, among other things. photo
© Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa
A bang for the Greens in the EU Parliament: a promising political newcomer is ending his career for the time being. This means the Greens are losing access to young voters.
The youngest German MEP, Malte Gallée (Greens) resigns his mandate. The 30-year-old said that he had informed the parliamentary group leadership about this step. “It is difficult for me to resign as an MP and I regret that I will no longer be a member of the European Parliament.”
Rumors of possible wrongdoing
When asked by the German Press Agency, Gallée confirmed “that there have been rumors about me for some time.” That’s why he himself asked the Green Party’s ombudsman in the European Parliament to investigate this in the summer of 2022. “Stern” also reported that there were rumors about possible misconduct by Gallée. The politician does not want to say exactly what the rumors are about. He said: “I am convinced that I did nothing wrong.”
From the beginning, he insisted that all rumors be investigated. “That’s why I welcome the fact that there are structures for ombudsman procedures in the Bavarian regional association and in the European parliamentary group of the Greens.” He is available for this at any time.
He wants to be able to fully concentrate on possible ombudsman proceedings in the coming weeks and months. Neither Gallée nor the European Greens or the Bavarian regional association wanted to comment on whether there are currently ongoing proceedings.
When asked, the Green group in the European Parliament also did not want to comment on the specific rumors. A spokeswoman said only in general terms: “The Greens/EFA group attaches great importance to a climate of safety and zero tolerance for harassment and inappropriate behavior.”
Reached many young people
The Green politician from Bavaria replaced Sven Giegold in the European Parliament at the beginning of 2022, who moved to the Federal Ministry of Economics as State Secretary. Gallée is followed by more than 50,000 people on TikTok, so he reaches many young people.
Since 1999, the Greens have formed a joint parliamentary group together with the European Free Alliance (EFA), in which regional parties have joined forces. The co-leader of the Green Party in the European Parliament, Terry Reintke, and the head of the German Green group, Rasmus Andresen, did not initially comment when asked.
Basically, Green ombudspersons in the European Parliament are responsible for finding ways and means to resolve disputes quickly and fairly. For example, you take care of disputes between members of the group and employees or between employees. This can include, for example, allegations of bullying or harassment.