Editing Alliance 90/The Greens (section)

==History==

===Background===
The Green Party was initially founded in West Germany as ''Die Grünen'' (the Greens) in January 1980. It grew out of the anti-nuclear energy, environmental, peace, new left, and new social movements of the late 20th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heberer |first1=Eva-Maria |title=Prostitution: An Economic Perspective on its Past, Present, and Future |date=2013 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9783658044961 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHPGBAAAQBAJ&q=%22Die+Gr%C3%BCnen%22+january+1980&pg=PA60 |access-date=11 March 2019}}</ref>

''Grüne Liste Umweltschutz'' (green list for environmental protection) was the name used for some branches in [[Lower Saxony]] and other states in the Federal Republic of Germany. These groups were founded in 1977 and took part in several elections. Most of them merged with The Greens in 1980.

The [[West Berlin]] state branch of The Greens was founded as ''Alternative Liste'', or precisely, ''Alternative Liste für Demokratie und Umweltschutz'' (AL; alternative list for democracy and environmental protection) in 1978 and became the official West Berlin branch of The Greens in 1980. In 1993, it renamed to Alliance 90/The Greens Berlin after the merger with East Berlin's Greens and Alliance 90.

The [[Alliance 90/The Greens Hamburg|Hamburg state branch]] of the Green Party was called ''Grün-Alternative Liste Hamburg'' (GAL; green-alternative list) from its foundation in 1982 until 2012. In 1984, it became the official Hamburg branch of The Greens.

===12–13 January 1980: Foundation congress===
The political party '''The Greens''' ({{langx|de|link=no|Die Grünen}}) sprung out of the wave of [[New social movements|New Social Movements]] that were active in the 1970s, including [[Environmental movement|environmentalist]], [[Anti-war movement|anti-war]], and [[Anti-nuclear movement|anti-nuclear]] movements which can trace their origin to the [[protests of 1968|student protests of 1968]]. Officially founded as a German national party on 13 January 1980 in [[Karlsruhe]], the party sought to give these movements political and parliamentary representation, as the pre-existing {{interlanguage link|Volkspartei (Parteityp)#Deutschland|de|lt=peoples parties}} were not organised in a way to address their stated issues.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kaelberer|first=Matthias|date=September 1998|title=Party competition, social movements and postmaterialist values: Exploring the rise of green parties in France and Germany|journal=[[Contemporary Politics]]|language=en|volume=4|issue=3|pages=299–315|doi=10.1080/13569779808449970|issn=1356-9775}}</ref> Its membership included organisers from former attempts to achieve institutional representation such as {{interlanguage link|Grüne Liste Umweltschutz|de|lt=GLU}} and [[Action Group of Independent Germans|AUD]]. Opposition to pollution, use of [[nuclear power]], [[NATO]] military action, and certain aspects of [[Industrialisation|industrialised society]] were principal campaign issues.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} The party also championed [[Sexual revolution|sexual liberation]] and some of their members supported the abolition of [[Age of consent reform|age of consent laws]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=16 July 2021|title=The German Experiment That Placed Foster Children with Pedophiles|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/26/the-german-experiment-that-placed-foster-children-with-pedophiles|access-date=27 July 2021|magazine=The New Yorker|publisher=Condé Nast|language=en-US}}</ref>

The formation of a party was purportedly first discussed by movement leaders in 1978. Important figures in the first years were&nbsp;– among others&nbsp;– [[Petra Kelly]], [[Joschka Fischer]], [[Gert Bastian]], {{interlanguage link|Lukas Beckmann|de}}, [[Rudolf Bahro]], [[Joseph Beuys]], [[Antje Vollmer]], {{interlanguage link|Herbert Gruhl|de}}, [[August Haußleiter]], [[Luise Rinser]], {{interlanguage link|Dirk Schneider (politician)|de|lt=Dirk Schneider}}, [[Christian Ströbele]], [[Jutta Ditfurth]], [[Baldur Springmann]] and [[:de:Werner Vogel (Politiker)|Werner Vogel]].

In the foundational [https://bnn.de/lokales/karlsruhe/gruendungsparteitag-der-gruenen-1980-in-karlsruhe-das-war-eine-ziemlich-schwere-geburt congress of 1980], the ideological tenets of the party were consolidated, proclaiming the famous Four Pillars of the Green Party:
* [[Social justice]]
* [[Ecological wisdom]]
* [[Grassroots democracy]]
* [[Nonviolence]]

===1980s: Parliamentary representation on the federal level===
In 1982, the conservative factions of the Greens broke away to form the [[Ecological Democratic Party]] (ÖDP). Those who remained in the Green party were more strongly [[Pacifism|pacifist]] and against restrictions on immigration and [[reproductive rights]], while supporting the legalisation of [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] use, placing a higher priority on working for [[LGBT rights in Germany|LGBT rights]], and tending to advocate what they described as "anti-authoritarian" concepts of education and child-rearing. They also tended to identify more closely with a culture of protest and [[civil disobedience]], frequently clashing with police at demonstrations against [[nuclear weapons]], [[Nuclear power|nuclear energy]], and the construction of a new runway ({{lang|de|Startbahn West}}) at [[Frankfurt Airport]]. Those who left the party at the time might have felt similarly about some of these issues, but did not identify with the forms of protest that Green party members took part in.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}}

After some success at [[States of Germany|state-level]] elections, the party won 27 seats with {{percentage|5.7|100|1}} of the vote in the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, in the [[1983 West German federal election|1983 federal election]]. Among the important political issues at the time was the deployment of [[Pershing II]] [[Intermediate-range ballistic missile|IRBM]]s and nuclear-tipped [[cruise missile]]s by the U.S. and [[NATO]] on West German soil, generating strong opposition in the general population that found an outlet in mass demonstrations. The newly formed party was able to draw on this popular movement to recruit support. Partly due to the impact of the [[Chernobyl disaster]] in 1986, and to growing awareness of the threat of air pollution and [[acid rain]] to German forests ({{lang|de|[[Forest dieback|Waldsterben]]}}), the Greens increased their share of the vote to {{percentage|8.3|100|1}} in the [[1987 West German federal election|1987 federal election]]. Around this time, [[Joschka Fischer]] emerged as the unofficial leader of the party, which he remained until resigning all leadership posts following the [[2005 German federal election|2005 federal election]].

The Greens were the target of attempts by the East German secret police to enlist the cooperation of members who were willing to align the party with the agenda of the [[German Democratic Republic]]. The party ranks included several politicians who were later discovered to have been [[Stasi]] agents, including [[Bundestag]] representative Dirk Schneider, [[European Parliament]] representative [[Brigitte Heinrich]], and [[Red Army Faction]] defense lawyer [[Klaus Croissant]]. Greens politician and Bundestag representative [[Gert Bastian]] was also a founding member of {{interlanguage link|Generals for Peace|de|Generale für den Frieden}}, a pacifist group created and funded by the Stasi, the revelation of which may have contributed to the murder-suicide in which he killed his partner and Greens founder [[Petra Kelly]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hilton |first1=Isabel |title=The Green with a smoking gun |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-green-with-a-smoking-gun-theres-no-mystery-about-who-killed-petra-kelly-and-her-lover-gert-1372660.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811222609/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-green-with-a-smoking-gun-theres-no-mystery-about-who-killed-petra-kelly-and-her-lover-gert-1372660.html |archive-date=11 August 2016 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |access-date=4 September 2018 |work=[[The Independent]] |date=26 April 1994}}</ref> A study commissioned by the Greens determined that 15 to 20 members intimately cooperated with the Stasi and another 450 to 500 had been informants.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chase |first1=Jefferson |title=Study confirms that Stasi infiltrated Greens |url=https://www.dw.com/en/study-confirms-that-stasi-infiltrated-greens/a-36024911 |access-date=4 September 2018 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] | language = en |date=12 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Decker |first1=Markus |title=Das Interesse der Stasi an den Grünen |url=http://www.fr.de/politik/die-gruenen-das-interesse-der-stasi-an-den-gruenen-a-305312 | language = de |access-date=4 September 2018 |work=[[Frankfurter Rundschau]] |date=12 October 2016}}</ref>

Until 1987, the Greens included a faction involved in [[pedophile activism]], the {{lang|de|SchwuP}} short for {{lang|de|Arbeitsgemeinschaft "Schwule, Päderasten und Transsexuelle"}} (approx. ''working group "Gays, Pederasts and Transsexuals"''). This faction campaigned for repealing  § 176 of the German penal code, dealing with [[child sexual abuse]]. This group was controversial within the party itself, and was seen as partly responsible for the poor election result of 1985.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13513384.html Torso von SchwuP] [[Der Spiegel]] 13/1985.</ref> [[:de:Pädophilie-Debatte (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)|This controversy re-surfaced in 2013]] and chairwoman [[Claudia Roth]] stated she welcomed an independent scientific investigation on the extent of influence pedophile activists had on the party in the mid-1980s.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/gruene-roth-will-paedophilie-aufarbeitung-unterstuetzen-12168499.html | title = Roth will Pädophilie-Aufarbeitung unterstützen | work = [[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]] | date = 1 May 2013 | language = de | df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/past-pedophile-links-haunt-german-green-party-a-899544.html |title=Shadows from the Past: Pedophile Links Haunt Green Party |first1=Jan | last1 =  Fleischhauer | first2 = Ann-Katrin | last2 = Müller | first3 = René | last3 = Pfister |year=2013 | work = [[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref> In November 2014, the political scientist Franz Walter presented the final report about his research on a press conference.<ref>{{cite news| last1=Leithaeuser | first1= Johannes|title=Viele Entschuldigungen und ein Erklärungsversuch|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/paedophilie-gruene-studie-zu-eigener-haltung-13261752.html|work=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]|access-date=4 August 2015|location=[[Berlin]] | language = de |date=11 December 2014 | df = dmy-all}}</ref>

===1990s: German reunification, electoral failure in the West, formation of Alliance 90/The Greens===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0208-015, Logo Grüne Partei der DDR.svg|thumb|left|The 1990 [[East German Green Party|GDR's Green Party]] logo]]
In the [[1990 German federal election|1990 federal elections]], taking place post-[[German reunification|reunified Germany]], the Greens in the West did not pass the 5% limit required to win seats in the Bundestag. It was only due to a temporary modification of German election law, applying the five-percent "hurdle" separately in East and West Germany, that the Greens acquired any parliamentary seats at all. This happened because in the [[new states of Germany]], the Greens, in a joint effort with [[Alliance 90]], a heterogeneous grouping of [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] activists, were able to gain more than 5% of the vote. Some critics attribute this poor performance to the reluctance of the campaign to cater to the prevalent mood of [[nationalism]], instead focusing on subjects such as [[global warming]]. A campaign poster at the time proudly stated, "Everyone is talking about Germany; we're talking about the weather!", paraphrasing a popular slogan of [[Deutsche Bundesbahn]], the German national railway. The party also opposed imminent reunification that was in process, instead wanting to initiate debates on ecology and nuclear issues before reunification causing a drop in support in Western Germany.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams|first1=Carol J.|title=Greens, E. German Leftists Join Election Forces|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-24-mn-955-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=10 July 2017}}</ref> After the [[1994 German federal election|1994 federal election]]; however, the merged party returned to the Bundestag, and the Greens received 7.3% of the vote nationwide and 49 seats.

===1998–2002: Greens as governing party, first term===
[[File:Gruenen Velotaxi 20050813.jpg|230px|thumb|left|A [[cycle rickshaw]] (velotaxi) in front of the German Bundestag in Berlin with the Alliance 90/The Greens livery for the [[2005 German federal election|2005 federal election]]]]

In the [[1998 German federal election|1998 federal election]], despite a slight fall in their percentage of the vote (6.7%), the Greens retained 47 seats and joined the federal government for the first time in '[[Red–green alliance|Red-Green]]' [[coalition government]] with the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (SPD). [[Joschka Fischer]] became [[Vice-Chancellor of Germany]] and [[Foreign Minister of Germany|foreign minister]] in the new government, which had two other Green ministers ([[Andrea Fischer]], later [[Renate Künast]], and [[Jürgen Trittin]]).

Almost immediately the party was plunged into a crisis by the question of German participation in the [[Kosovo War|NATO actions]] in Kosovo. Numerous anti-war party members resigned their party membership when the first post-war deployment of German troops in a military conflict abroad occurred under a Red-Green government, and the party began to experience a long string of defeats in local and state-level elections. Disappointment with the Green participation in government increased when anti-nuclear power activists realised that shutting down the nation's nuclear power stations would not happen as quickly as they wished, and numerous pro-business SPD members of the federal cabinet opposed the environmentalist agenda of the Greens, calling for tacit compromises.

In 2001, the party experienced a further crisis as some Green Members of Parliament refused to back the government's plan of sending military personnel to help with the [[Operation Enduring Freedom|2001 invasion of Afghanistan]]. [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] [[Gerhard Schröder]] called a vote of confidence, tying it to his strategy on the war. Four Green MPs and one Social Democrat voted against the government, but Schröder was still able to command a majority.

On the other hand, the Greens achieved a major success as a governing party through the 2000 decision to phase out the use of nuclear energy. [[Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety|Minister of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety]] Jürgen Trittin reached an agreement with energy companies on the gradual phasing out of [[List of nuclear reactors#Germany|the country's nineteen nuclear power plants]] and a cessation of civil usage of nuclear power by 2020. This was authorised through the [[Nuclear Exit Law]]. Based on an estimate of 32 years as the normal period of operation for a nuclear power plant, the agreement defines precisely how much energy a power plant is allowed to produce before being shut down. This law has since been overturned.

===2002–2005: Greens as governing party, second term===
Despite the crises of the preceding electoral period, in the [[2002 German federal election|2002 federal election]], the Greens increased their total to 55 seats (in a smaller parliament) and 8.6%. This was partly due to the perception that the internal debate over the war in Afghanistan had been more honest and open than in other parties, and one of the MPs who had voted against the Afghanistan deployment, [[Hans-Christian Ströbele]], was directly elected to the Bundestag as a district representative for the [[Berlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East|Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East constituency]] in Berlin, becoming the first Green to ever gain a [[first-past-the-post]] seat in Germany.

The Greens benefited from increased inroads among traditionally left-wing demographics which had benefited from Green-initiated legislation in the 1998–2002 term, such as environmentalists ([[Renewable Energies Act]]) and LGBT groups ([[Registered Partnership]] Law). Perhaps most important for determining the success of both the Greens and the SPD was the increasing threat of war in Iraq, which was highly unpopular with the German public, and helped gather votes for the parties which had taken a stand against participation in this war. Despite losses for the SPD, the Red-Green coalition government retained a very slight majority in the Bundestag (4 seats) and was renewed, with [[Joschka Fischer]] as foreign minister, [[Renate Künast]] as minister for consumer protection, nutrition and agriculture, and [[Jürgen Trittin]] as minister for the environment.

One internal issue in 2002 was the failed attempt to settle a long-standing discussion about the question of whether members of parliament should be allowed to become members of the party executive. Two party conventions declined to change the party statute. The necessary majority of two-thirds was missed by a small margin. As a result, former party chairpersons [[Fritz Kuhn]] and [[Claudia Roth]] (who had been elected to parliament that year) were no longer able to continue in their executive function and were replaced by former party secretary general [[Reinhard Bütikofer]] and former Bundestag member [[Angelika Beer]]. The party then held a member referendum on this question in the spring of 2003 which changed the party statute. Now members of parliament may be elected for two of the six seats of the party executive, as long as they are not ministers or caucus leaders. 57% of all party members voted in the member referendum, with 67% voting in favor of the change. The referendum was only the second in the history of Alliance 90/The Greens, the first having been held about the merger of the Greens and Alliance 90. In 2004, after Angelika Beer was elected to the [[European Parliament]], Claudia Roth was elected to replace her as party chair.

[[File:Bdk-oldenburg-2005-kuenast.jpg|thumb|230px|right|Federal party convention in Oldenburg; Renate Künast speaking (2005)]]

The only party convention in 2003 was planned for November 2003, but about 20% of the local organisations forced the federal party to hold a special party convention in [[Cottbus]] early to discuss the party position regarding ''[[Agenda 2010]]'', a major reform of the German welfare programmes planned by Chancellor Schröder.

The November 2003 party convention was held in [[Dresden]] and decided the election platform for the 2004 [[European Parliament]] elections. The German Green list for these elections was headed by [[Rebecca Harms]] (then leader of the Green party in Lower Saxony) and [[Daniel Cohn-Bendit]], previously Member of the European Parliament for [[The Greens (France)|The Greens of France]]. The November 2003 convention is also noteworthy because it was the first convention of a German political party ever to use an [[electronic voting]] system.

The Greens gained a record 13 of Germany's 99 seats in these elections, mainly due to the perceived competence of Green ministers in the federal government and the unpopularity of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]].

In early 2005, the Greens were the target of the [[German Visa Affair 2005]], instigated in the media by the [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU). At the end of April 2005, they celebrated the decommissioning of the [[Obrigheim nuclear power station]]. They also continue to support a bill for an [[Anti-Discrimination Law]] ({{interlanguage link|Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz|de}}) in the [[Bundestag]].

In May 2005, the only remaining state-level [[red-green coalition]] government lost the vote in the [[2005 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|North Rhine-Westphalia state election]], leaving only the federal government with participation of the Greens (apart from local governments). In the early [[2005 German federal election|2005 federal election]] the party incurred very small losses and achieved 8.1% of the vote and 51 seats. However, due to larger losses of the SPD, the previous coalition no longer had a majority in the Bundestag.
[[File:National Vote map die Gruenen.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Map showing Alliance 90/The Greens vote in each of the German constituencies at the [[2005 German federal election]]]]

===2005–2021: In opposition===
[[File:Bundestag 2009 Buendnisgruene.svg|thumb|250px|right|Map showing Alliance 90/The Greens vote in each of the German constituencies at the [[2009 German federal election]]]]
For almost two years after the federal election in 2005, the Greens were not part of any government at the state or federal level. In June 2007, the Greens in [[Bremen]] entered into a coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) following the [[2007 Bremen state election]].
[[File:Greens in Government G-Coordination.png|thumb|Professionalization of G-Coordination since 2007]]
In April 2008, following the [[2008 Hamburg state election]], the Green-Alternative List (GAL) in [[Hamburg]] entered into a coalition with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the first {{interlanguage link|Schwarz-grüne Koalition|de|lt=such}} state-level coalition in Germany. Although the GAL had to agree to the deepening of the [[Elbe]] River, the construction of a new [[coal-fired power station]] and two road projects they had opposed, they also received some significant concessions from the CDU. These included reforming state schools by increasing the number of primary school [[educational stage]]s, the restoration of trams as public transportation in the [[city-state]], and more [[Pedestrian zone|pedestrian-friendly]] real estate development. On 29 November 2010, the coalition collapsed, resulting in [[2011 Hamburg state election|an election]] that was won by SPD.

Following the [[2009 Saarland state election|Saarland state election]] of August 2009, The Greens held the balance of power after a close election where no two-party coalitions could create a stable [[majority government]]. After negotiations, the Saarland Greens rejected the option of a left-wing 'red-red-green' coalition with the SPD and [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]] ({{Lang|de|Die Linke}}) in order to form a centre-right state government with the CDU and [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]] (FDP), a historical first time that a [[Jamaica coalition (politics)|Jamaica coalition]] has formed in German politics.

In June 2010, in the first state election following the victory of the [[CDU/CSU]] and FDP in the [[2009 German federal election|2009 federal election]], the "black-yellow" CDU-FDP coalition in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] under [[Jürgen Rüttgers]] lost its majority. The Greens and the SPD came one seat short of a governing majority, but after multiple negotiations about coalitions of SPD and Greens with either the FDP or The Left, the SPD and Greens decided to form a [[minority government]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,701274,00.html |title=Krafts Machtplan: Rot-Grün plant Minderheitsregierung in NRW |newspaper=Der Spiegel |date=17 June 2010 |publisher=Spiegel.de |access-date=3 June 2012|last1=Brandt |first1=Andrea |last2=Medick |first2=Veit }}</ref> which was possible because under the [[constitution of North Rhine-Westphalia]] a plurality of seats is sufficient to elect a [[Minister-President|minister-president]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://recht.nrw.de/lmi/owa/br_text_anzeigen?v_id=2320020927105939563#det364590|title=Gesetze und Verordnungen – Landesrecht NRW|author=Ministerium für Inneres und Kommunales des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Referat|work=nrw.de|access-date=13 October 2016}}</ref> So a red-green government in a state where it was defeated under [[Peer Steinbrück]] in 2005 came into office again on 14 June 2010 with the election of [[Hannelore Kraft]] as minister-president ([[Cabinet Kraft I]]).

The Greens founded the first international chapter of a German political party in the U.S. on 13 April 2008 at the [[Goethe-Institut]] in Washington D.C. Its main goal is "to provide a platform for politically active and green-oriented German citizens, in and beyond Washington D.C., to discuss and actively participate in German Green politics. [...] to foster professional and personal exchange, channeling the outcomes towards the political discourse in Germany."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gruene-washington.de/about-us/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928072416/http://gruene-washington.de/about-us/|url-status=dead|title=Grüner Ortsverband Washington: About us|archive-date=28 September 2009}}</ref>

In March 2011 (two weeks after the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima nuclear disaster]] had begun), the Greens made large gains in [[2011 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|Rhineland-Palatinate]] and in [[2011 Baden-Württemberg state election|Baden-Württemberg]]. In Baden-Württemberg they became the senior partner in a governing coalition for the first time. [[Winfried Kretschmann]] is now the first Green to serve as [[Minister-President]] of a German State ([[Cabinet Kretschmann I]] and [[Cabinet Kretschmann II|II]]). Polling data from August 2011 indicated that one in five Germans supported the Greens.<ref name="nytgrowth">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/world/europe/02greens.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all |title=Greens Gain in Germany, and the World Takes Notice |last=Kulish |first=Nicholas |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 September 2011 |access-date=2 September 2011}}</ref> From 4 October 2011 to [[2016 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election|4 September 2016]], the party was represented in all state parliaments.

Like the Social Democrats, the Greens backed Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] on most bailout votes in the German parliament during her second term, saying their pro-European stances overrode party politics.<ref>Tony Czuczka and Patrick Donahue (24 September 2013), [Merkel's Cold Embrace Leaves SPD Wary of Coalition Talks] ''[[Bloomberg News]]''.</ref> Shortly before the elections, the party plummeted to a four-year low in the polls, undermining efforts by [[Peer Steinbrück]]'s Social Democrats to unseat Merkel.<ref>Patrick Donahue (11 September 2013), [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-11/germany-s-greens-slump-dimming-spd-chances-of-unseating-merkel.html Germany's Greens Slump, Dimming SPD Chances of Unseating Merkel] ''[[Bloomberg News]]''.</ref> While being in opposition on the federal level since 2005, the Greens have established themselves as a powerful force in Germany's political system. By 2016, the Greens had joined 11 out of 16 state governments in a variety of coalitions.<ref name="Jungjohann-2017">{{Cite web|url=https://eu.boell.org/sites/default/files/greens_in_government.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019170632/https://eu.boell.org/sites/default/files/greens_in_government.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2018 |url-status=live|title=German Greens in Coalition Governments. A Political Analysis|last=Jungjohann|first=Arne|date=2017|website=eu.boell.org|publisher=Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union and Green European Foundation|access-date=14 January 2019}}</ref> Over the years, they have built up an informal structure called G-coordination to organize interests between the federal party office, the parliamentary group in the Bundestag, and the Greens governing on the state level.<ref name="Jungjohann-2017" />

The Greens remained the smallest of six parties in the Bundestag in the [[2017 German federal election|2017 federal election]], winning 8.9% of votes. After the election, they entered into talks for a [[Jamaica coalition (politics)|Jamaica coalition]] with the CDU and FDP. Discussions collapsed after the FDP withdrew in November.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Paun |first1=Carmen |title=Angela Merkel Ready to Move Forward with Jamaica Coalition |url=http://www.politico.eu/article/angela-merkel-ready-to-move-forward-with-jamaica-coalition/ |date=7 October 2017 |publisher=[[Politico]] |access-date=9 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=FDP bricht Jamaika-Sondierungen ab|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/eilmeldung/eilmeldung-3173.html|publisher=tagesschau|date=20 November 2017|access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref>

After the federal election and unsuccessful Jamaica negotiations, the party held elections for two new co-leaders; incumbents Özdemir and Peter did not stand for re-election. [[Robert Habeck]] and [[Annalena Baerbock]] were elected with 81% and 64% of votes, respectively. Habeck had served as deputy premier and environment minister in [[Schleswig-Holstein]] since 2012, while Baerbock had been a leading figure in the party's Brandenburg branch since 2009. Their election was considered a break with tradition, as they were both members of the moderate wing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/annalena-baerbock-robert-habeck-german-greens-elect-new-leadership-duo/|title=German Greens elect new leadership duo|date=27 January 2018|publisher=[[Politico]]}}</ref>

The Greens saw a major surge in support during the [[2018 Bavarian state election|Bavarian]] and [[2018 Hessian state election|Hessian]] state elections in October 2018, becoming the second largest party in both.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45835795|title=Bavaria election: German conservatives lose their fizz|publisher=bbc.com|date=14 October 2018|access-date=31 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46012098|title=Germany election: Further blow for Merkel in Hesse|publisher=bbc.com|date=28 October 2018|access-date=31 October 2018}}</ref> They subsequently rose to second place behind the CDU/CSU in national polling, averaging between 17% and 20% over the next six months.<ref name="pollofpoll">{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/germany/|title=Poll of Polls – Germany|date=15 February 2022|publisher=pollofpolls.eu}}</ref>
[[File:2019 European election in Germany - Greens results.svg|thumb|250px|right|A map showing the percentage of votes won by the Greens by district and state in the [[2019 European Parliament election in Germany|2019 European Parliament election]]. Darker shades indicate a higher vote share.]]
In the [[2019 European Parliament election in Germany|2019 European Parliament election]], the Greens achieved their best ever result in a national election, placing second with 20.5% of the vote and winning 21 seats.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20190526/greens-surge-amid-heavy-losses-for-germanys-ruling-parties-in-eu-elections-exit-poll|title=Greens surge amid heavy losses for Germany's ruling parties in EU election|date=26 May 2019|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref> National polling released after the election showed a major boost for the party. The first poll after the election, conducted by Forsa, showed the Greens in first place on 27%. This was the first time the Greens had ever been in first place in a national opinion poll, and the first time in the history of the Federal Republic that any party other than the CDU/CSU or SPD had placed first in a national poll.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-politics-poll-idUSKCN1T23F7|title=Germany's Greens shoot into first place in poll, overtaking Merkel's conservatives|date=2 June 2019|access-date=2 June 2019}}</ref> This trend continued as polls from May to July showed the CDU/CSU and Greens trading first place, after which point the CDU/CSU pulled ahead once more. The Greens continued to poll in the low 20% range into early 2020.<ref name="pollofpoll"/>

The Greens recorded best-ever results in the [[2019 Brandenburg state election|Brandenburg]] (10.8%) and [[2019 Saxony state election|Saxony]] (8.6%) state elections in September 2019, and subsequently joined coalition governments in both states.<ref>{{cite web |title=Brandenburg: Dietmar Woidke als Ministerpräsident wiedergewählt: Landtagswahl Brandenburg 2019: Endgültiges Ergebnis |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/brandenburg-dietmar-woidke-von-kenia-koalition-zum-ministerpraesidenten-gewaehlt-a-1297353.html |website=Spiegel Online |date=20 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mdr.de/sachsen/politik/regierung-kenia-koalitionsvertrag-unterzeichnet-100.html|title=Sachsens Kenia-Regierung ist besiegelt|publisher=MDR.de|date=20 December 2019}}</ref> They suffered an unexpected decline in the [[2019 Thuringian state election|Thuringian]] election in October, only narrowing retaining their seats with 5.2%. In the February [[2020 Hamburg state election]], the Greens became the second largest party, winning 24.2% of votes cast.<ref>{{Cite news|agency=Reuters|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/23/far-right-afd-ejected-from-hamburg-state-parliament-after-attack|title=Merkel's CDU suffers worst ever result in Hamburg elections|date=23 February 2020|work=The Guardian|access-date=24 February 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In March 2021, the Greens improved their performance in [[2021 Baden-Württemberg state election|Baden-Württemberg]], where they remained the strongest party with 32.6% of votes, and [[2021 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|Rhineland-Palatinate]], where they moved into third place with 9.3%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/baden-wuerttemberg-alle-ergebnisse-der-landtagswahl-2021-im-ueberblick-a-181b2648-0398-46f6-a854-22115d9c396b|title=This is how Baden-Württemberg voted – current results|date=15 March 2021|publisher=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/rheinland-pfalz-alle-ergebnisse-der-landtagswahl-2021-im-ueberblick-a-6c819b8d-2b10-404a-99f9-1110ec3ede2e|title=This is how Rhineland-Palatinate voted – current results|date=15 March 2021|publisher=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref>

Due to their sustained position as the second most popular party in national polling ahead of the [[2021 German federal election|September 2021 federal election]], the Greens chose to forgo the traditional dual lead-candidacy in favour of selecting a single Chancellor candidate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fr.de/politik/gruene-baerbock-habeck-bundestagswahl-2021-spitzenkandidat-kanzler-deutschland-news-90326625.html|title=Greens: Baerbock or Habeck – what speaks for whom?|date=7 April 2021|publisher=[[Frankfurter Rundschau]]|access-date=12 April 2021|archive-date=12 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412022217/https://www.fr.de/politik/gruene-baerbock-habeck-bundestagswahl-2021-spitzenkandidat-kanzler-deutschland-news-90326625.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Co-leader Annalena Baerbock was announced as Chancellor candidate on 19 April<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/buendnis-90-die-gruenen-annalena-baerbock-soll-kanzlerkandidatin-werden-a-051558bb-f24a-42da-85f9-bf069de0c3f8|title=Annalena Baerbock is to run as a candidate for chancellor for the Greens|date=19 April 2021|language=de|publisher=[[Der Spiegel]]|access-date=19 April 2021|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419090525/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/buendnis-90-die-gruenen-annalena-baerbock-soll-kanzlerkandidatin-werden-a-051558bb-f24a-42da-85f9-bf069de0c3f8|url-status=live}}</ref> and formally confirmed on 12 June with 98.5% approval.<ref>{{cite news |title=German Greens confirm Annalena Baerbock as chancellor candidate |url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-greens-confirm-annalena-baerbock-as-chancellor-candidate/a-57868627 |access-date=12 June 2021 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=12 June 2021}}</ref>
[[File:2021 German federal election - Greens result.svg|thumb|250px|right|A map showing the percentage of votes won by the Greens by constituency and state in the 2021 federal election. Darker shades indicate a higher vote share.]]
The Greens surged in opinion polls in late April and May, briefly surpassing the CDU as the most popular party in the country, but their numbers slipped back after Baerbock was caught up in several controversies. Her personal popularity also fell below that of both [[Armin Laschet]] and [[Olaf Scholz]], the Chancellor candidates for the CDU and SPD, respectively. The party's fortunes did not reverse even after the [[2021 European floods|July floods]], which saw climate change return as the most important issue among voters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/11/germanys-greens-were-riding-high-in-the-polls-but-fell-from-grace.html|title=The Greens were once favorites ahead of Germany's 'rollercoaster' election, but not anymore|date=11 August 2021|website=[[CNBC]]}}</ref> The situation worsened in August as the SPD surged into first place to the detriment of both the CDU and Greens.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-spd-makes-major-gains-against-merkels-cdu/a-59066377|title=German election: SPD makes major gains against Merkel's CDU|date=2 September 2021|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

=== 2021–present: Return to government ===
The Greens finished in third place in the [[2021 German federal election|2021 federal election]] with 14.8% of votes. Though their best ever federal election result, it was considered a bitter disappointment in light of their polling numbers during the previous three years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-green-party-a-victory-that-doesnt-feel-like-one/a-59328354|title=Germany's Green Party: A victory that doesn't feel like one|date=27 September 2021|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref> They entered coalition talks with the FDP and SPD, eventually joining a [[traffic light coalition]] under Chancellor [[Olaf Scholz]] which took office on 8 December 2021.<ref>{{cite news|date=6 December 2021|title=Grüne stimmen für Koalitionsvertrag mit SPD und FDP|language=de|work=Zeit.de|url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2021-12/gruene-stimmen-fuer-koalitionsvertrag-mit-spd-und-fdp|access-date=6 December 2021}}</ref> The Greens have five ministers in the [[Scholz cabinet]], including Robert Habeck as Vice-Chancellor and Annalena Baerbock as foreign minister.<ref>{{cite news|last=Connolly|first=Kate|date=24 November 2021|title=German parties agree coalition deal to make Olaf Scholz chancellor|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/24/german-parties-agree-coalition-deal-to-make-olaf-scholz-chancellor|access-date=24 November 2021}}</ref>

Since party statute mandates that party leaders may not hold government office, Baerbock and Habeck stepped down after entering cabinet. At a party conference in January 2022, [[Ricarda Lang]] and [[Omid Nouripour]] were elected to succeed them. At the time of her election, Lang was 28 years old, speaker for women's issues, and a former leader of the [[Green Youth (Germany)|Green Youth]]. 46-year-old Nouripour was foreign affairs spokesman and a member of the Bundestag since 2006. Of the new leaders, Lang is considered a representative of the party's left-wing, while Nouripour represents the right-wing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-green-party-elects-new-leaders-at-volatile-moment/a-60582495|title=German Green Party elects new leaders at volatile moment|last=Knight|first=Ben|date=29 January 2022|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2022/01/29/ricarda-lang-and-omid-nouripour-elected-to-lead-german-greens|title=Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour elected to lead German Greens|agency=Associated Press|date=29 January 2022|website=[[Euronews]]}}</ref>

Lang and Nouripour announced their resignations as party leaders in September 2024 after heavy defeats in the [[2024 Saxony state election|Saxony]], [[2024 Thuringian state election|Thuringia]] and [[2024 Brandenburg state election|Brandenburg]] state elections that month, as well as the earlier [[2024 European Parliament election in Germany|European Parliament election]]. In all three states, governing coalitions involving the Greens were not returned, and the party was wiped out in the latter two states while only narrowly retaining representation in Saxony. In the European elections, the Greens fell to fourth (behind the CDU/CSU, AfD and SPD) and lost 9 seats in the European parliament, falling to 12 seats. The party had fallen out of five state governments (additionally [[Berlin]] and [[Hesse]]) since entering the federal governing coalition in 2021. Analysts pointed to its participation in the federal government requiring it to take stances that are contrary to its traditional clean-energy and pacifist ideals, as well as a stark collapse in support with young voters.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Connolly |first1=Kate |title=Leaders of Germany's Greens resign after state election defeats |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/25/leaders-germany-greens-party-resign-state-elections-ricarda-lang-omid-nouripour |work=The Guardian |date=25 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Grünen-Spitze tritt zurück: Rettet das die Partei? |url=https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/gruenen-spitze-tritt-zurueck-rettet-das-die-partei |work=BR24 |date=25 September 2024 |language=de}}</ref> 

[[Felix Banaszak]] and [[Franziska Brantner]] elected as co-leaders in November.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-16 |title=Parteitag in Wiesbaden: Grüne wählen Franziska Brantner und Felix Banaszak zu Vorsitzenden |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/parteitag-in-wiesbaden-gruene-waehlen-franziska-brantner-und-felix-banaszak-zu-vorsitzenden-110115748.html |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=FAZ.NET |language=de}}</ref> Meanwhile, party chose current [[Vice-Chancellor of Germany|Vice Chancellor]] [[Robert Habeck]] as their [[Chancellor candidate]] for the [[2025 German federal election|2025 federal election]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |agency=Associated Press |date=2025-02-18 |title=Here's Who Could Be Germany's Next Chancellor |url=https://time.com/7253064/germany-chancellor-election-candidates-scholz-merz-habeck-weidel/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> While the Greens would lose 33 seats, they would still receive 11.6% of the vote and remain a powerful force in German politics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results Germany - The Federal Returning Officer |url=https://www.bundeswahlleiterin.de/en/bundestagswahlen/2025/ergebnisse/bund-99.html |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=www.bundeswahlleiterin.de}}</ref>