Trittin leaves the Bundestag: Farewell to DJ Töpfenpfand

After 25 years, Jürgen Trittin is saying goodbye to the Bundestag. At his last speech he received much applause. The Green politician was often contentious and controversial – and not just because of the can deposit.

Whether it was oversleeping, a nasty speck of dust or Robert Habeck’s eyes actually seemed a little moist with emotion – the Green Vice Chancellor looked visibly moved in the Bundestag in mid-December when Jürgen Trittin gave his last parliamentary speech. A few weeks ago, Trittin had accused him and the other members of the government of “cheating”. Shortly after the Federal Constitutional Court ruling in mid-November, which was devastating for the traffic light, Trittin continued to rumble that he too would have sued this budget if he had been in the opposition. A typical Trittin.

In his 25 years in the Bundestag, he has been offended more often. “With a certain persistence, Jürgen has earned the reputation of a left-green bully, while personally he is a polite and pleasant fellow,” says his companion Reinhard Bütikofer tagesschau.de. But to the outside world, he primarily cultivated the aforementioned bully image.

“Pentagram of Horror”

Trittin comes from Bremen and was far to the left of the spectrum in his Green Party years. His rise in the eco-party began in the mid-90s. He entered the Bundestag in 1998. In the same year he shocked German drivers with his proposal to increase the price of gasoline. “This will ruin us,” shouted truck drivers.

Nevertheless, the Greens made it into the first red-green government under Gerhard Schröder. There Trittin became the first green federal environment minister.

He remained left-wing and controversial. During a discussion in the early noughties about a newly emerging patriotism in Germany, Trittin compared the then bald CDU general secretary Laurenz Meyer to a skinhead.

Trittin also acted just as squeamishly within his own party – at a time when the Realists and the Left were still passionately fighting each other. “There were constant arguments within the management team,” describes Bütikofer today. But this was not an expression of political failure, on the contrary: “These disputes were a core part of the formation of political will,” said Bütikofer. The five-person management team, which included Trittin and Bütikofer as well as Fritz Kuhn, Renate Künast and Claudia Roth, was still regarded internally as a “pentagram of horror”.

Nuclear phase-out and DJ can deposits

One of Jürgen Trittin’s greatest external political successes was the nuclear phase-out, which he was instrumental in initiating. But the introduction of the can deposit in 2001, against which retailers tried to defend themselves using all legal means, is also firmly linked to his name. So much so that he performed as a DJ Blechpfand for some time. In the repertoire back then: Franz Ferdinand and Depeche Mode.

That also suits him: partying and good food, says Renate Künast tagesschau.de. “Jürgen Trittin is a bon vivant – I had to say that before people thought he was strict,” says Künast Trittin in defense.

Edgy until the end

His most recent political work was foreign policy. “Trittin was one of the few who were able to gain something positive from Nord Stream II before the war of aggression,” said Bütikofer. And this summer, Trittin’s left heart flashed even more clearly in the Bundestag when he addressed the Nakba, i.e. the Palestinian expulsion, and Germany’s responsibility for it in his speech on the occasion of Israel’s 75th founding day. “Without the unprecedented Holocaust, the Nakba would not have existed.” The term “Nakba” appears less than five times in all parliamentary documentation.

This caused some – especially younger party colleagues – to roll their eyes in annoyance. They seem to prefer not to lean out of the window when it comes to this topic.

2024 is over

Trittin won’t be doing that any more soon either. 2024 will finally be over. She will miss him, says Renate Künast. Claudia Roth also mentions Jürgen Trittin tagesschau.de “her friend” and says: “With him one of the most important left-wing voices in the group is leaving.” She will miss him. Does that apply to the entire party? Some considered him arrogant, including towards the press.

He now wants to fill his free time with more music, he said in an interview with “Spiegel”. The Clash and Talking Heads are at the top of his playlist today.