Green Youth Re-elects Held and Bobga, Rejects Black-Green Alliances at Leipzig Congress
The Green Youth (Grüne Jugend) held its 60th federal congress in Leipzig, re-electing Henriette Held and Luis Bobga as federal spokespersons with 86.29% and 73.20% of votes, both weaker results than a year earlier. Delegates sharply rejected governing alliances with the CDU and attacked Chancellor Friedrich Merz's black-red government, while Green Party leader Felix Banaszak warned against ruling out cooperation with the CDU. The congress passed an "East Strategy" and raised the age limit from 28 to 30.
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Reports are grouped by semantic similarity and deterministic rules. Language models may assist titles, summaries, translation and cross-source analysis; the page reads the event directly, while its address stays stable when the title changes.
- Summary covers the current reports
Cross-source coverage
Reporting timeline
Green Youth Congress Shows Polite Applause for Parent Party
At the 60th federal congress of the Green Youth (GJ) in Leipzig, the traditionally left-wing youth wing showed unusually tame criticism of its parent party, the Greens. Re-elected co-chairs Henriette Held and Luis Bobga focused their sharpest attacks on Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government, mentioning the Greens only once each. Held received 86 percent of votes and Bobga 73 percent. The congress passed an 'Eastern strategy' to strengthen weak state associations and raised the age limit from 28 to 30. Green Party leader Felix Banaszak, a former GJ federal speaker, addressed the congress, defending his critical stance on Berlin's red-red-green exploratory talks while refusing to rule out cooperation with the CDU. He also discussed the party's position on Israel's war in Gaza with members wearing keffiyehs, rejecting their demand to call it 'genocide.'
Read sourceGreen Youth Congress Shows Polite Applause for Parent Party
At the 60th federal congress of the Green Youth in Leipzig, the youth wing of Germany's Green Party re-elected Henriette Held and Luis Bobga as federal spokespersons with 86% and 73% of votes respectively. Unlike past years, major conflict with the parent party was absent. Both criticized the federal government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz on climate and inequality, but only briefly mentioned the Greens. Green Party leader Felix Banaszak, a former youth leader, addressed the congress, defending his critical stance on Berlin's red-green-red exploratory talks while arguing against ruling out cooperation with the CDU. He also discussed Israel policy with members wearing keffiyehs, rejecting their demand to call the Gaza situation 'genocide.' The congress passed an 'East strategy' to strengthen weak eastern state associations and raised the age limit from 28 to 30.
Grüne Jugend Rejects Black-Green Alliances as Banaszak Warns Against Closing Door to CDU
At the Grüne Jugend Bundeskongress in Leipzig, delegates and leaders sharply rejected governing coalitions with the CDU, with co-chairs Henriette Held and Luis Bobga attacking Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Held called him a "fucking Bundeskanzler," while Bobga described the black-red federal government's policies as anti-social and deadly in their consequences. Delegates such as Constantin Heinold and Christian Geiger warned against "anti-human policy" with the CDU and urged left-wing politics instead. Green Party leader Felix Banaszak countered that categorically excluding cooperation with the CDU is unwise, arguing that a hard directional fight is underway within the Union between forces open to the AfD and figures like Hendrik Wüst and Daniel Günther who maintain the firewall. He said Greens and SPD should keep a power option open so that anti-AfD forces in the Union can prevail. Banaszak also demanded clear agreements for the planned red-green-red coalition in Berlin, calling it a test run for a possible federal alliance. Held and Bobga were re-elected with weaker results than the previous year.
Read sourceShow 2 older updatesHide older updates
Green Youth Rejects Black-Green Alliances as Banaszak Warns Against Closing Off CDU Option
At the Green Youth federal congress in Leipzig, delegates and leaders sharply rejected governing alliances with the CDU, with co-chairs Henriette Held and Luis Bobga attacking Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Held called him a "fucking Bundeskanzler," while Bobga described the black-red federal government's policies as anti-social and deadly in their consequences. Delegates such as Constantin Heinold and Christian Geiger warned against "anti-human" politics with the CDU and urged left-wing policies instead. Green Party leader Felix Banaszak, however, cautioned against ruling out any cooperation with the CDU, arguing that doing so would weaken moderate Union figures like Hendrik Wüst and Daniel Günther who maintain the firewall against the AfD. He also demanded clear agreements for the planned red-green-red coalition in Berlin, framing it as a test run for a possible federal alliance after the next election. Held and Bobga were re-elected with lower vote shares than the previous year.
Read sourceGreen Youth Leaders Re-elected, Attack Chancellor Merz at Leipzig Congress
The Green Youth re-elected Henriette Held and Luis Bobga as federal spokespersons at its congress in Leipzig, though both received weaker results than a year earlier. Held won 86.29 percent and Bobga 73.20 percent. Both sharply attacked Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and the black-red federal government. Held accused Merz of ignoring climate change and called him a 'fucking Bundeskanzler,' while Bobga described government policy as antisocial and deadly, saying cuts to programs like 'Demokratie leben' increase the risk of right-wing extremist violence and that 'all these cuts kill people.' Bobga also admitted to a brief FDP membership as a teenager. The congress also passed an eastern strategy titled 'Determined in the East, Solidary in the West' and saw criticism of the Green mother party, including calls for Cem Özdemir and Felix Banaszak to hold back.