At their party conference in Karlsruhe, the Green Party decided on their European election program. However, the party base did not want a quote from former Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to be included.
After the election of the federal executive and the European election list, the Greens continued their party conference in Karlsruhe on Saturday with discussions about the European election program. At the beginning, the federal executive had to accept a substantive defeat.
Adenauer Quote Causes Trouble within the Green Party
In the draft of the program, the Green Party leadership also included a quote from the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Konrad Adenauer. The CDU politician said about 70 years ago: “This unity of Europe ‘was a dream of a few. It has become a hope for many. Today, it is a necessity for all of us.'”
However, the passage had caused great anger among the Green Party base. Several motions had demanded the removal of the quote. They did not want the only quote in the more than 100-page program to be granted to a conservative. The majority of the delegates supported a corresponding motion.
“Adenauer was problematic in his time and remains so today”
Prior to this, the applicant Shirin Kreße from the Berlin-Mitte district emphasized in her speech that Adenauer was too sexist even for CDU female politicians in his time. “Adenauer was problematic in his time and remains so today.” He had long refused to appoint a woman as a minister because he thought women were too soft.
Kreße also criticized Adenauer’s handling of former NS cadre: “Adenauer bears responsibility for the reintegration of NSDAP leaders into high state offices.” In addition, for years, Adenauer had socialist politicians, including Willy Brandt, spied on with the intelligence service.
“A quote cannot be considered and interpreted independently of the person,” Kreße continued. Her vision of Europe is feminist, anti-fascist, and is not called Konrad Adenauer.
Roth tries to defend the position of the executive
Subsequently, the State Secretary for Culture, Claudia Roth, representing the left wing of the party, tried to strengthen the position of the federal executive. “Yes, Adenauer certainly was not a feminist,” Roth said. However, the quote is about the beginning of the European idea.
“He tried to reach out to France. He tried to contribute to reconciliation,” Roth emphasized in her counter-speech. This sentence by Adenauer was the beginning of a deep friendship with the neighboring country.
The word “prosperity” remains in the program
The federal executive proposed supplementing the election program with quotes from two women. However, the Green Party base did not follow this suggestion nor did they accept Claudia Roth’s argument. On the other hand, the term “prosperity,” which some of the base wanted to remove, remains in the program. Negotiations on the program will continue until Sunday. A heated debate on the course of migration policy is expected Saturday evening.
By Felix Hackenbruch
