Beşiktaş Square in Erlangen in the afternoon: A group of young people paint a large picture on the paving stones with brushes and paint. Two weeks before the state elections, the Green Youth (GJ) is once again promoting its campaign “Bavaria, can you be fair?” in Erlangen’s city center. attentive. Passers-by stop and take a closer look at what is happening. “I was curious about the music and the young people here,” says one of them. “You are involved in a political process, which I think is good.”
The Greens’ youth organization is running its own campaign in this election campaign – but why? Are the youth organization and the parent party no longer completely green? Three GJ members are currently painting the chalk picture. “We are more consistent in our positions than the Greens. For me personally, the Greens are sometimes too willing to compromise,” says one of them, gesturing with the paintbrush in her right hand. She wants the Greens to have stronger red lines and no softening of their own goals. The problem is that the Greens always give up too quickly. “That the Greens are still so naive and believe that politics in the green sense is possible with the CDU/CSU or FPD in the federal government,” she continues and shakes her head. “We are already fighting together,” says another participant. “But we are the left-wing engine of the Greens.”
The relationship is “friendly and fair,” says GJ spokeswoman Katharina Sparrer. But there are some points of contention that “come up” from time to time. The focus of the GJ campaign is on social justice. “We specifically demand social justice and are less caught up in smaller, isolated issues like the Greens, who have a strong focus on family policy in the election campaign,” she explains. In recent debates, the approval of the reform of the Common European Asylum System has been a point of conflict. “If, for example, we notice that positions are shifting in the area of migration, then that is worrying,” adds GJ spokeswoman Eva Konen. Your impression: This also influences the mood in the party. “I know that people are leaving,” says Konen. There are individuals for whom this is very, very difficult, but also many others who would see that it is worth fighting for. “I don’t have the feeling that frustration paralyzes, but rather that it strengthens and activates,” she says.
The demolition of the hamlet of Lützerath for brown coal mining in North Rhine-Westphalia is also still ongoing. The Greens contributed to “corporate interests winning out over the interests of the common good,” says Sparrer. A participant in the painting campaign was present at the protest in Lützerath; There was frustration there. “They were so short-sighted and really wanted to be involved in government, even though they knew that the CDU wasn’t pulling in the same direction,” he says.
The GJ had also called for free public transport in Bavaria. “Despite all our sympathy, we rejected the Green Youth’s demand to make local transport free for everyone for cost reasons. Ultimately, we also want to massively expand the quality and frequency of buses and trains,” said Thomas von Sarnowski, party leader of the Bavarian Green Party, recently. However, there is agreement on the major goals: a sustainable, social, fair and cosmopolitan Bavaria in a peaceful and democratic Europe. And we are very grateful for the great commitment of the young members in the election campaign, said von Sarnowski.
“We submitted an application for free public transport, yes. It didn’t win. It’s completely normal that there are different opinions within the party. It’s a normal political conflict,” says a GJ member. GJ spokeswoman Eva Konen summarizes: “We have an independent interest in participating in politics.”