The aggressive policies of the German Greens have alienated not only many voters in Germany but also their own supporters, including one of the founders of the party who has accused them of pursuing a warmongering foreign policy.
According to a recent survey published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily, the Greens, who entered into government with the Social Democrats (SPD) and the liberal FDP in December 2021, have seen their support plummet from 18% to 8% compared to five years ago. Meanwhile, the number of people who claim not to like the party has risen considerably from 25% to 56%, meaning it is one of the most hated parties in Germany. Two-thirds of those surveyed say the Greens want to create too many regulations, and 63% said the Greens are out of touch with the needs of the citizens. A plurality of people, 43% also believe the Greens are the most influential force in the current government, even though the SPD are the largest party.
The results of the survey come as no surprise: the people’s trust in the German government has dramatically fallen in the last year, and the policies of the Greens have contributed to that. The government is facing a backlash for its energy policies and green agenda, including the closing of all nuclear power plants, adding to the cost-of-living crisis. German farmers have been protesting for months against tax hikes and climate policies that endanger their livelihood. The cabinet has also clumsily manoeuvred itself into a budget fiasco, leaving a €17 billion hole in the budget, which the government decided to fill through cuts and tax hikes.
The disastrous economy has been coupled with a huge increase of migrants arriving to the country, and an aggressive foreign policy, led by Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. As Junge Freiheit’s editor-in-chief, Dieter Stein recently wrote for The European Conservative:
Annalena Baerbock, the young, inexperienced minister of foreign affairs, has promised to introduce a ‘feminist foreign policy,’ but she seems helpless in the face of the momentous challenges posed by the Russian-Ukraine war. The Greens have converted from a ‘pacifist’ party into the most belligerent party of all.
Indeed, the Greens have been the ones forcing Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to agree to more and more weapons deliveries to Ukraine. However, Scholz wants to avoid escalation with Russia and is not willing to send German Taurus cruise missiles, that would be capable of hitting targets deep inside Russia, to Ukraine. A large number, 61% of Germans, agree with Scholz, but Baerbock says the government should “actively consider” the supply of such missiles to Ukraine.
“It is no longer the primary goal of green foreign policy to end wars and avoid suffering, but to supply more and more powerful weapons in order to be able to negotiate with a gun on the table,” writes Ulfried Geuter, one of the founders of the Green party who recently announced his resignation from the party after 45 years as a member, citing the Greens’ warmongering policies as the main reason.
While he had previously been “happy and proud” to be a member, he can no longer tolerate the foreign policy of Baerbock, “which follows the logic of war and puts the security of Europe and the world at risk” in order to make themselves feel morally superior. The Greens “have sacrificed their ideals of peace and environmental policy for the mere goal of playing in the great geopolitical power poker,” he wrote.
