Germany Brantner and Banaszak are the new heads of the Greens

Franziska Brantner and Felix Banaszak are the new chairpersons of the Greens. The delegates at the federal party conference in Wiesbaden elected Brantner with 78.15 percent of the vote, while Banaszak received 92.88 percent, a significantly better result. Both were elected for a two-year term of office.

An opposing candidate to Brantner from Bayreuth received 14.44 percent. There were 4.2 percent no votes and 3.21 percent abstentions. Banaszak had four opponents, but they only received 3.72% of the vote.

Realist politician from Baden-Württemberg, leftist from the Ruhr region

45-year-old Brantner has been a member of the Bundestag since 2013 after several years as an MEP. She comes from Baden-Württemberg, studied in Paris and New York and has a doctorate in social sciences from the University of Mannheim. She belongs to the Realo wing of the Greens.

Banaszak is 35 years old, comes from Duisburg and calls himself "a child of the Ruhr region". His CV includes a period as head of the Green Youth. From 2018 to 2022, he was the state chairman of the Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia, where he helped negotiate the coalition agreement for the black-green state government. He has been a member of the Bundestag since 2021, where he is a member of the Economic Committee and the Budget Committee. He studied social and cultural anthropology and political science in Berlin and belongs to the left wing of the party.

The Greens should be "a force of confidence", said Banaszak in a very emotional candidacy speech. At the same time, he emphasized that contentious debates are not a bad thing. In his view, a party that did not discuss and argue internally would be "a dead party". He was also able to score points with the delegates time and again with humor, for example when he said about his home town: "You have to want Duisburg."

Brantner: "Put an end to dinosaur thinking"

Germany needs more investment, said Brantner in her candidacy speech. And: "Tightening your belt is no good if your pants are already missing." She defended the Germany ticket and announced that she would fight for the further promotion of climate-friendly heating systems such as heat pumps.

Brantner lashed out at her political rivals. With a view to the upcoming Bundestag elections, she warned against "another standstill Groko". In her acclaimed speech, she accused CDU leader Friedrich Merz of having an antiquated view of women and demanded: "Stop this dinosaur thinking!" BSW leader Sahra Wagenknecht called her a "pseudo-socialist high earner" who should not accuse the Greens of being a party for the high earners.

Brantner remains State Secretary for the time being

Brantner will retain her post as Parliamentary State Secretary in Robert Habeck's Federal Ministry of Economics until further notice. Due to the early parliamentary elections, the government has decided not to fill any more positions for parliamentary state secretaries, Brantner told the German Press Agency. "Robert Habeck has therefore asked me to remain in office until the end of the legislative period so that business can be conducted properly. I am taking on this responsibility for the remaining weeks." The general election is scheduled for February 23.

The election of the entire six-member Green Party board had become necessary after the previous leadership announced its withdrawal following three unsuccessful state elections in September.

Only minor protests

The party conference on Saturday was accompanied by two small protest rallies with only a few dozen participants in total. Supporters of Pro Asyl accused the Greens of switching sides on refugee policy.

Another group with Palestinian flags held up a banner with the slogan "Ceasefire Now!" in front of the party conference grounds. The police are on site with strong forces and say they have no fears about the demonstrations.

SDA