The Greens are showing Olaf up
Dear Reader,
The Green party are often accused of being too ideological for the German public to trust them with the keys to the Chancellery. Indeed, I’ve criticised them often enough in this newsletter for the fact that they often sound like Germany’s biggest single issue party. In their eyes, every single other function of government should be subordinated to the fight against climate change.
That’s the kind of tunnel vision that can lead to the poor policy choices that have left Germany so exposed to the Kremlin’s blackmail.
But in the past few weeks leading figures in the Greens have taken on the role of statesmen at a time when a vacuum of moral authority exists inside the Chancellery.
While Olaf Scholz dithers and his SPD Defence minister stumbles from one faux pas into the next, the Greens have shown leadership and direction.
Annalena Baerbock has made an excellent start as Foreign Minister. She has been touring extensively in the Balkans and eastern Europe, regions she had identified as being key to securing alliances against Russian attempts to sow discord in Europe.