Robert Habeck chosen as the Green Party’s candidate for chancellor

Robert Habeck leads the Greens in the federal election campaign. Now it’s official: A corresponding motion received 96.48 percent of the delegate votes at the federal party conference in Wiesbaden. “We accept the election!” shouted Habeck, who is fighting in a duo with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

In the application, Habeck is described as a “candidate for the people of Germany” who has “what it takes to be a good Chancellor.” Leading Greens describe Habeck as a candidate for chancellor. Habeck himself says on the subject that he wants “an honest address.” 20 delegates voted against Habeck (2.6 percent). Seven delegates (0.91 percent) abstained from the vote.

Before his nomination, Habeck asked the delegates for their support. He said at the party conference in Wiesbaden that he was seeking the trust to be able to carry on this party and its responsibility. “And if it takes us very far, then it will also take us to the Chancellery,” he adds. He expressly thanks Baerbock, with whom he once shared the party chairmanship. To her he says: “It is a great privilege to know you in front of me, next to me and behind me.”

Baerbock previously praised Habeck as “super pragmatic”. “That’s exactly what I want: you as chancellor,” she calls out to him. “No one can turn things around in a storm like Robert Habeck and at the same time set the sails correctly in a tailwind.” She pledged her support to him in the election campaign.

In his approximately one-hour application speech, 55-year-old Habeck paints a picture of himself as someone for whom equality is particularly important. When his children were small, he changed diapers and mashed potatoes just like his wife. Something like this is always well received at Green party conferences.

Habeck then takes stock of his reign. He admits that the building energy law, which made a deep dent in his popularity, is hanging over the election campaign “like a sword of Damocles” – but at the same time emphasizes his ability to learn from mistakes.

Habeck explains that running for the top position was not a sure-fire success for him. In the end, after discussions with party friends this summer, he decided “not to back down now.” Regarding media reports that he wanted to reshape the party according to his ideas, Habeck said in a discussion with members: “I hate that like the plague. If you believe that I would be like that, then please don’t vote for me in the election!”

Habeck argues against the perception of his party as being a professor. He says he doesn’t want to be a know-it-all who tells others what to think. At the same time, he warns against a new edition of the so-called grand coalition. “She’s the reason for the love affair with the status quo, she’s the reason for the stasis,” he says.

The coalition between the Union and the SPD once led Germany into energy dependence on Russia and for a long time did not see or did not want to see what was in the offing in the years before the war of aggression against Ukraine began in February 2022.

Habeck announced that the problems that he wanted to focus on with the Greens included the low employment rate of mothers and the still too restrictive rules for the right to stay of rejected asylum seekers willing to work.

In the future, the federal government must be given more opportunities to financially support the states in education policy. In Habeck’s opinion, the reform of the debt brake anchored in the Basic Law, which the Greens have long been calling for, should be initiated before the new Bundestag elections planned for February 23rd.

Habeck promises low electricity prices and announces that he will take out loans for urgent infrastructure projects if the Greens participate in government again. He says: “I’m not a big fan of going into debt – I just want the job done.”

The more than 800 delegates greeted his hour-long speech with thunderous applause, especially when he spoke about greater taxation of the “super-rich” and the closing of tax loopholes.

Overall, the three-day party conference is characterized by the election of a new leadership after the previous board around Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour announced its withdrawal at the end of September after three disappointing state elections. In view of the poll numbers of 11 to 12 percent, the two new chairmen, Franziska Brantner and Felix Banaszak, emphasized what they saw as the indispensable role of the Greens as advocates for climate protection and social justice.

There are largely no major substantive debates in Wiesbaden. The Greens want to decide on their election program at another party conference on January 26th. Internally we hear that it is important not to fight on niche issues, but rather to make an offer to voters with a “big idea”. Climate protection, measures against dilapidated infrastructure, security issues and the affordability of everyday life should be the focus.

In Wiesbaden, the delegates advocated, among other things, intensively pursuing initiatives for a possible AfD ban and reforming the debt brake anchored in the Basic Law. A proposal from the Green Youth to completely abolish the debt brake did not find a majority on Saturday night.

The Greens also address the fact that migration and the acceptance of refugees have also caused concern among the population. A motion passed with an overwhelming majority states: “It is time for a new asylum and migration policy, one that finally works, faces realities, sees human rights as an advantage and promotes the dignity of people in and outside Europe center.”

The Greens want to introduce a completely new model for inheritance tax. Your proposal provides for a “life allowance for everyone” of, for example, one million euros, instead of the previous allowances, which depend on the relationship between the testator and heir. Above the exemption amount, a linear tax rate of around 25 percent should then apply equally to all assets – including real estate, business assets and shares.

Habeck is now entering the hot election campaign phase – and at the kitchen table. At least that was his offer to the voters he wanted to meet for an informal discussion.

Transparency note: This article has been updated several times since it was first published.