The planned sweeping statutory reform by the Green Party leadership is facing significant resistance from within its membership base. A group comprising 130 founding, base, and wing members of the party has filed an emergency motion with the Berlin Regional Court challenging the scheduled referendum on the proposed reform, as reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The critics argue that the planned shift toward a more professionalized, bureaucratic party diminishes one of the foundational strengths of the Greens: its base democracy.
The vote on the statutory changes is set to begin on June 9th. The leadership’s stated goal is to speed up decision-making processes within the party, which has grown substantially to over 180,000 members. However, the grassroots Green members formally object to the plan’s proposal to finalize the reform through a simple majority. Instead, they demand a two-thirds vote from Green members and participation from 50 percent of eligible voters. They criticize the party leadership’s approach as both unlawful and a violation of the party statutes.
Beyond the procedural concerns, the signatories also have massive substantive objections to the plan. They warn that certain parts of the reform are too radical, fearing that the changes will weaken the rights of individual members and local chapters while bolstering the structures and functionaries of the party.
A spokesperson for the Green Party stated that the party was previously unaware of the proceedings before the Regional Court, though they maintained that the party was confident in its legal standing.
However, Klemens Griesehop, one of the critics, clarified that the aim is not to stop the reform itself. He emphasized that the objective is to achieve a legally sound reform that maintains balance. Griesehop noted, “More ability to act, but without the loss of the citizen-oriented Green participatory culture”.
