After the surprising electoral victory achieved by Cem Özdemir in Baden‑Württemberg, former federal minister Renate Künast warned her party against turning the result into an intra‑party debate over direction.
She told “Stern” that the party should not misuse the striking success as a pretext for a fight over its ideological stance. “The brilliant outcome should not become a platform for a debate about our orientation” she said. “We must handle the fact that Özdemir will now bring his positions into national politics with a view to constructive tension”.
Künast, who aligns with the party’s left wing, sees a clear lesson from the Baden‑Württemberg win: Özdemir has demonstrated that merely talking about caring for the whole country is insufficient; the message must be substantiated. “Each Green must continuously ask itself whether they are representing only in theory-or if they are also acting in practice” she added.
She noted that challenges vary from state to state and emphasized the need to grant candidates the freedom to propose solutions that address national concerns. “We would benefit from being small, but we gain nothing from staying that way” Künast concluded.
