Thuringian Green politician sees party in crisis of confidence

In view of several lost elections and poor poll ratings, Thuringian Green politician Madeleine Henfling sees her party in a crisis of confidence and is calling for a vision for East Germany. "We are perceived as an academic big-city party," Henfling told the German Press Agency in Erfurt. Some people do not understand what the Greens want to say to them, and the party's communication must become suitable for everyday use, she demanded.

Hardly a chance in state elections in the east

State elections are due in five federal states next year. In Baden-Württemberg, they currently hold the office of Minister President, but are more than ten percentage points behind the CDU in the polls - and in some cases even behind the AfD in third place. In Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the latest poll results show that they are in danger of re-entering the respective state parliaments.

Henfling pointed out that the Greens' competence ratings have fallen even on core party issues such as climate change. "This means we have a real crisis of confidence in our party. People no longer trust us to solve problems, even on our core issues," she said.

Demographics underestimated

In the super election year 2024, the Greens lost votes in a number of elections, especially in state elections in the eastern German federal states - in Brandenburg and Thuringia they were kicked out of parliament, and in Thuringia and Saxony they were also kicked out of government. In the federal elections in February this year, the party fell far short of its ambitions and only came fourth with 11.6 percent.

Henfling, who was the Greens' lead candidate in the state elections in Thuringia last year, appealed to her party to focus more on other future issues in addition to topics such as climate change. "You can't win a flower pot in the east with climate and environmental issues alone," she said. In her view, the Greens need to build up further expertise in areas such as infrastructure and social justice.

Vision for eastern Germany

"Demographic change is something that all parties completely underestimate - the impact this has on people's voting behavior when they feel left behind," said Henfling. People in the east are better off than they used to be. "But we're talking about feelings here. People are afraid that things will get worse again and they are drawing on their experiences from the 1990s. You can't argue that away."

There are no simple answers to many problems. "But what would help would be if people had the feeling that the Greens have a vision for the East," she said.