Winfried Kretschmann, the 77‑year‑old Green leader of Baden‑Württemberg, expressed relief that his time in office will soon end. Speaking to the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”, he remarked that the role is a burden as well as a privilege. “I am glad to step down” he said, adding that he often sleeps poorly and is constantly on edge about small annoyances that could spark a full‑blown crisis.
Kretschmann has headed the state government since 2011, but he will not stand in the Landtag election on 8 March 2026. In the years he has ruled, he notes that worldwide democracy has deteriorated to a degree he never imagined. He calls nationalism “the deadliest political poison of our time” and warns that Germany could experience another war. “If Putin wins in Ukraine, he will keep going” he said, stressing that the threat is real and that imagining a credible deterrent is essential. Though he has not yet taken private precautions such as stockpiling supplies, he mused that he might begin to do so.
In addition, Kretschmann dismissed the possibility that his colleague Markus Söder of the CSU could become German chancellor. “With Bavarian liturgy you won’t make it to the chancellorship of the Bundesrepublik” he commented, recalling the first time Söder visited Oktoberfest in his lederhosen and noting that the ambition seemed to have faded.
