If Cem Özdemir, the Greens’ candidate for state premier of Baden-Württemberg, were to win, he could possibly bring Tübingen’s mayor Boris Palmer into the new cabinet. In an interview with “Handelsblatt” for its Tuesday issue, Özdemir said he would not appoint anyone who presents themselves for a ministry; Palmer had not done that, and Özdemir praised him as “smart enough”.
Palmer had long been seen as a rebel within the Greens, facing harsh internal criticism, and he left the party in a dispute in 2023. Despite that, Özdemir and Palmer still consider themselves friends. Özdemir told “Handelsblatt” that they work closely together and that Palmer is an important advisor on housing, rent policy, climate protection and efficient administration.
The Greens’ frontrunner, hoping to extend the existing green‑black coalition, also warned against a triple alliance of the CDU, SPD and FDP-an arrangement favored by CDU candidate Manuel Hagel. “No one in Baden-Württemberg wants a confrontational coalition with a premier who has never held a governmental office before” Özdemir said. “That would be a re‑loaded Lindner versus Scholz” he added, recalling the failed federal traffic‑light coalition.
