The newly elected leadership of the Green Youth is intensifying calls for greater influence and support from the core Green Party ahead of this weekend’s party conference in Hanover. Luis Bobga, spokesperson for the Green Youth, emphasized the need for substantial dialogue, moving beyond mere pronouncements of goodwill. “Engagement with the party must not stop at pleasant words. We need to be heard” he told the online news portal T-Online. He further stressed the visibility of the Green Youth, citing their 19,000 members as representative of a significant youthful voice within the party, a demographic he believes the Greens would be unwise to ignore.
Bobga criticized the compromises made during the recent “traffic light” coalition government’s tenure. He argues that the current parliamentary landscape offers a unique opportunity for the Greens to clearly define their positions on key policy areas, including rent control measures and mandatory military service, freed from the constraints of coalition agreements.
Henriette Held, co-chair of the Green Youth, echoed the call for a more robust partnership, expressing concern over lingering distrust resulting from past disagreements. “One still notices in the collaboration with the party that there was a breach of trust in the past” she stated. She urged the Green Party to recognize the Green Youth as allies, not adversaries and demanded greater backing from factions within the party. Despite acknowledging improved communication, Held stressed the need for more concrete support.
Speaking to a lack of distinct opposition, Held criticized the Green Party’s perceived ambiguity in its role. “The Green Party is still in a phase of finding its way and is only in part a powerful opposition” she asserted. She demanded that the party more vocally champion its core themes, actively resisting the perception of being a “compromise party”. A crucial unifying message, she insisted, must be the inextricable link between the climate crisis and social justice. To that end, the Green Youth are advocating for the permanent extension of the €9 ticket and a “climate solidarity” levy, requiring “high-net-worth individuals” to contribute significantly to the necessary societal transformation.
The election of the new Green Youth leadership in early October was intended as a fresh start following a tumultuous period for the organization. Last year, the entire previous board resigned from all positions and subsequently left the party due to profound disagreements on policy. The previous chairperson, Jette Nietzard, generated considerable controversy through her confrontational stance towards the party, a dynamic that ultimately saw her decline to seek re-election this October. The current leaders now face the challenge of navigating this legacy and securing a more substantive role for the Green Youth within the larger party structure.
