Saxony's Greens elect Storz and Helbig as new dual leadership

The Saxon Greens have set the course for the future at their party conference in Neukieritzsch and elected a new dual leadership. In future, Coretta Storz and Martin Helbig will lead the state association. The previous chairwoman Marie Müser did not stand for re-election. She had led the party alone since the resignation of Christin Furtenbacher in December 2024.

Storz prevailed over Gesine Märtens in the first round of voting for the women's seat. She received 72 (64.9 percent) of the 111 votes cast. Märtens received 38 votes (34.3 percent). Martin Helbig was elected for the open seat. He received 66 (58.9 percent) of the 112 votes cast. His competitor Nathalie Senf received 33 votes (29.5 percent).

Ex-environment minister Wolfram Günther, who was initially considered the favorite, surprisingly withdrew his candidacy. He justified the move with the debate within the party about the separation of office and mandate. "If my candidacy risks jeopardizing unity, then unity is more important to me. And that is why I am withdrawing my candidacy," he said to applause. Günther is still a member of the Saxon state parliament.

The Greens in Saxony currently have around 5,300 members. In last year's state elections, the party received 5.1 percent of the vote and left the government.