The narrow victory in Baden-Württemberg on March 8 felt like a release for the battered Green Party. With roughly 180,000 members, the German Greens are one of the largest green parties worldwide, but they had suffered nine electoral defeats over the past three and a half years at federal and state levels.
Last year’s federal election was a particular setback: the Greens fell to 11.6% of the vote, down from nearly 15% in 2021. After governing nationally from 2021 with the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Free Democrats (FDP) under Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Greens returned to opposition when Friedrich Merz of the CDU became chancellor in May 2025.
The party also lost its two most prominent leaders: former Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck left active politics, and former Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock moved to New York to work for the United Nations. Left searching for direction, the Greens debated their identity and strategy.
Cem Özdemir, a veteran Green and former agriculture minister, delivered a local triumph in his home state of Baden-Württemberg. Britta Haßelmann, the Greens’ parliamentary group leader, celebrated the result as proof the party can win again and is still needed. Özdemir’s campaign, however, was notably personalized: his posters emphasized him over the party name (the Greens appeared only as a small sunflower logo), and he avoided bold or provocative climate pledges.
Özdemir must now form a coalition with the CDU, continuing the state’s previous arrangement. His approach has been controversial within the party. The Green youth wing, Grüne Jugend, warned that election wins mean little if they do not secure governments that pursue clear social policies. Haßelmann cautioned that a Baden-Württemberg strategy cannot be transplanted unchanged to diverse states like North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin, or Rhineland-Palatinate, where priorities differ.
More state contests lie ahead: Rhineland-Palatinate votes on March 22, where the Greens are part of a coalition with SPD and FDP, and Berlin will hold elections on September 22.
Some figures in Berlin back Özdemir’s course. Omid Nouripour, vice president of the Bundestag and former Green leader, called the victory a blueprint for how the Greens can again build broader majorities nationwide. Nouripour said Özdemir shows Green politics can win if it listens to people, addresses their realities, and stakes out space in the center.
That is the central debate within the party: whether the Greens should reposition toward the center to attract wider support, or swing left to enable stronger alliances with parties like the SPD and the Left. Özdemir has chosen the center, aiming to win voters in the societal mainstream.
Election researcher Roberto Heinrich of infratest-dimap noted that Özdemir’s name recognition helped in an environment where environmental issues have lost relative salience while economic concerns have risen. Yet not every state party has a figure of Özdemir’s stature, so the struggle to define the right course will likely continue.
This article was originally written in German.