Green Party leader: Habeck did not pressure me to withdraw

Green Party leader: Habeck did not pressure me to withdraw


Referreport

In view of the deep crisis facing the Greens, the party leadership has announced its withdrawal. Completely voluntary, some ask. Now the current chairwoman speaks out.

Outgoing Green Party leader Ricarda Lang has rejected speculation that Economics Minister Robert Habeck may have pressured her to withdraw. “No, that’s not true,” she says in the ARD program “Confrontation: Markus Feldenkirchen meets Ricarda Lang,” which is scheduled to air on Monday evening. It is inappropriate to act as if a young woman needed a string puller for such a decision. “I’ll make my decision on my own.”

The woman from the left wing of the party emphasized that the relationship with Realo Habeck was still characterized by collegial cooperation. At the same time, she warned her party not to neglect the team spirit in order to rely only on a single strong man at the top. “I think that would be the wrong approach.” Habeck is considered the only promising candidate for the Green Party’s top or even chancellor candidacy in the federal election, but the decision has not yet been made.

Lang said about strategic considerations in the party to position the Greens more broadly. «We will never reach mainstream society as long as we are perceived as an elite project. And you have to recognize that: we Greens are currently perceived more as an elite project than for a long time before.”

The decision to withdraw had taken away from her, Lang admitted. “Yes, of course. “I’ve put an incredible amount of heart and soul into this shop over the last few years,” she said. “This step was painful for me, it was hard for me, it was emotional for me.”

Source: German