German Greens seek to abandon their AfD strategy
Parliamentary group leaders Dröge and Haßelmann acknowledge their own responsibility and call for visible solutions.
Germany’s Grünen believe their previous approach to countering the AfD’s rise has not worked sufficiently. Parliamentary group leaders Katharina Dröge and Britta Haßelmann write in an internal impulse paper that all democratic parties, including the Grünen, bear responsibility for the growth of the right-wing populist party.
According to public reports, the five-page document was sent to the Grünen parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Dröge and Haßelmann say that previous attempts to confront the AfD politically have not achieved enough. In their view, a strategy focused mainly on protecting the democratic system no longer reaches many voters.
The two parliamentary group leaders warn that this has made the Grünen appear to some as defenders of a status quo that does not function well in everyday life. They link the AfD’s electoral appeal to regions where people feel forgotten and where structural problems persist.
The proposed response consists not only of a sharper rejection of the AfD, but above all of visible political results. According to the available reports, the authors mention, among other things, the need to offer solutions for people in structurally weak regions. The specific measures they propose have not been fully set out in the public sources found.
The discussion comes at a time when the AfD is making major electoral gains in Germany. In the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, the party won 43.8 per cent of the vote, according to AP. It thus became the largest parliamentary group, but without a majority that would allow it to form a government on its own.
The result makes cooperation between other parties necessary. According to German public broadcaster ZDF, it remained uncertain after the election which coalition in Saxony-Anhalt could form a workable majority. That issue forms the backdrop to the wider discussion about the so-called Brandmauer: parties want to exclude the AfD from government participation, but must at the same time organise a workable majority.
The Grünen document therefore adopts a dual message. The party wants to uphold the protection of democratic institutions, but acknowledges that moral warnings alone are insufficient when voters are primarily experiencing concrete concerns about income, public services, security or regional disadvantage.
The development is relevant to Dutch readers because Germany is an important European partner and the AfD’s rise affects the functioning of state-level and federal politics. However, the available information mainly concerns summaries of the impulse paper; its full text was not publicly available in the sources consulted.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The parliamentary group leaders of Germany’s Grünen say that previous strategies against the AfD have not worked sufficiently.
- They also place responsibility for the AfD’s rise with the democratic parties, including their own party.
- The AfD became the largest parliamentary group in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, but did not secure a majority.
- The formation of a state government remained uncertain after the election.
Left
Arguments The AfD’s rise must be addressed through better public services, social security and investment in regions that are structurally falling behind. Democratic parties should not try to defeat the AfD through rhetoric or exclusion alone, but should address the material causes of discontent without adopting its exclusionary politics.
Values Equality, solidarity, the protection of minorities and a strong public sector.
Consequences If social problems remain unaddressed, trust may decline further. A course that shifts too far towards the AfD could, from this perspective, end up normalising its agenda.
Centre
Arguments A workable approach combines clear democratic boundaries with administrative results. Parties must demonstrably deliver on housing, infrastructure, security and regional development, while coalitions remain institutionally stable and substantively accountable.
Values Governability, the rule of law, compromise and trust in public institutions.
Consequences This approach may win back voters, but it requires cooperation between parties that are far apart politically and may thereby weaken their own identities.
Right
Arguments According to this perspective, the Grünen’s self-criticism confirms that established parties have responded for too long with moral warnings and abstract democratic language. Restoring trust requires a clearer response to security, migration, economic stagnation and the question of whether the government is carrying out its core responsibilities.
Values Order, responsibility, national control and political accountability.
Consequences Greater attention to concrete problems may reduce the appeal of protest parties. At the same time, there is a risk that parties will increase its political influence by adopting the AfD’s themes and phrasing.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
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This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article’s core is confirmed by public reports about the impulse paper. The election figures and the uncertain coalition-building are additionally supported by independent public sources; the absence of the full text does, however, limit detailed verification.
- confirmed Katharina Dröge and Britta Haßelmann are the leaders of the Grünen parliamentary group in the Bundestag. — Mentioned in reporting about the impulse paper. source
- confirmed The two parliamentary group leaders wrote a five-page impulse paper that was sent to members of the Grünen in the Bundestag. — This is stated in dts’s public summary. source
- confirmed Dröge and Haßelmann believe that previous attempts against the AfD were inadequate and also consider the Grünen jointly responsible. — The same core point is reported by two public sources. source
- confirmed The AfD won 43.8 per cent in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and became the largest parliamentary group without a majority. — AP describes the result and the absence of a majority. source
- confirmed After the election, it remained uncertain which coalition could form a majority in Saxony-Anhalt. — ZDF describes the unclear formation of a government. source
- uncertain The full text of the impulse paper was not publicly available in the sources consulted. — This is a finding from the source review, not a substantive claim about the document. source
Editor's note
It is certain that Katharina Dröge and Britta Haßelmann describe the previous approach to the AfD as inadequate in an internal impulse paper and also consider the Grünen jointly responsible. The election result in Saxony-Anhalt and the uncertain coalition-building have been reported independently. The full text of the impulse paper and the precise measures were not found publicly; the status is therefore insufficient_sources.Sources
- Grüne erklären Strategie gegen AfD für gescheitert — Ad-hoc News / dts Nachrichtenagentur
- Fraktionsvorsitzende Dröge und Haßelmann: Strategische Neuausrichtung der Grünen gegen die AfD — Daseinsfrage
- AfD party's landslide win in eastern Germany tests country's 'firewall' against the far right — Associated Press
- Nach den Wahlen: Wie weiter für Sachsen-Anhalt? — ZDF
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