The Greens are sometimes stressful, as Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt also knows. In the dpa interview, however, she contradicts the ban party’s accusation – with an announcement about neck steak.
Before the 2024 election year, Green Party politician Katrin Göring-Eckardt called for more interest and respect for the life experiences of East Germans. “I would also like to see more of East German from my own party,” said the Vice President of the Bundestag in an interview with the German Press Agency. The Thuringian added: “We once showed in ’89 that we can win democracy. And now we have to defend it as East Germans.”
The three eastern German states of Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg have state elections next year, and the AfD is number one in polls in all three states. The Greens’ values in Thuringia are just below the five percent hurdle, and slightly above it in the other two states.
Göring-Eckardt admitted that there is certainly support for Alliance 90/The Greens in the East, but there is also a lot of hostility. “I explain this by saying that as a party we stand for change, for progress, for diversity. I think that stresses people out. After a pandemic and in times of war and crises, they long for peace and quiet.”
“If you want neck steak, you should eat neck steak.”
She rejected the ban party’s accusation. “I don’t want to tell anyone what or how they eat, what or how they speak,” said the 57-year-old. “If you want neck steak, you should eat neck steak.” But: “If you reflect the true costs to some extent, then it can no longer be had for less than two euros. We have to endure this honesty together.”
Göring-Eckardt sharply criticized the AfD, which in turn often attacked the Greens harshly. “The AfD is creative in inventing alleged bans that the Greens wanted,” she said. “This is an organization that is good at saying no and bullying. It doesn’t offer anything to address people’s specific concerns in everyday life. It stirs up hatred and agitation.”
With a view to future elections, Göring-Eckardt predicted: “The AfD values can also be brought down again.” What is crucial is the traffic light coalition’s confidence in itself, people’s confidence in politics and politics in people. “I don’t feel like giving up before we’ve even started. Before the three state elections in East Germany, the sun rises and sets very often.”
From eight to midnight in the Bundestag
Göring-Eckardt admitted that people in rural areas or small towns often felt forgotten by federal politics. But: “It’s not true that MPs don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “They’re not just in Berlin right now, they’re out and about in their constituencies, visiting clubs or companies. MPs also have families, the children go to school, do sports, they shop.”
She has been spending most of her private life in the village for decades. In Berlin, politicians sometimes sit in the German Bundestag buildings from eight in the morning to midnight. “But we spend the other half of the time in real life. That’s where we find out what works and what doesn’t.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
