German Green Youth re-elects Held and Bobga at Leipzig congress, attacks Merz

Leipzig — Henriette Held and Luis Bobga have been re-elected as leaders of the Green Youth (Grüne Jugend), the youth wing of Germany's Green Party, following sharp criticism of the black-red federal government at the organization's federal congress in Leipzig.

Election Results

Held received 86.29 percent of the vote, while Bobga secured 73.20 percent. Both results represent a decline from their first election a year ago, when Held won 93.6 percent and Bobga 76.2 percent.

Both federal spokespersons — the title used for Green Youth leaders — are 24 years old and have now extended their terms by another year.

Bobga: Cuts Cost Lives

Bobga accused the federal government of causing premature deaths. "We need a language that names the fact that Friedrich Merz bears responsibility for people living much worse lives and dying earlier if working hours are made more flexible," he said.

He also criticized Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) for cutting funding for projects under the "Demokratie leben" (Live Democracy) program, saying it means less money for right-wing extremism prevention "and a higher risk that a Nazi will one day beat me to death." Bobga, whose father is from Cameroon, added: "All these cuts lead to one and the same result: they kill people." He said anger was necessary to rise up.

When asked, Bobga acknowledged that he had briefly been a member of the FDP as a teenager, describing it as a youthful indiscretion. "I was a member for three months, and that was enough." He said the party had reached him during a federal election campaign through the topic of education.

Held Criticizes Chancellor, Demands Party Shift

Held complained that the government is doing too little to combat climate change. "We don't need a chancellor who explains to us how democracy works. A chancellor who understands about as much about the East as men understand about a uterus," she said.

She referred to Merz as the "fucking Bundeskanzler" (fucking federal chancellor). She also demanded that her own party change course: "The party must finally realize that it cannot stand alongside a CDU that helps right-wing extremists into power" — presumably an allusion to the situation in Saxony-Anhalt.

Criticism of the Mother Party

The Green Youth holds very left-wing positions within the Green Party. "Capitalism is shit," one speaker said. Two members from Berlin expressed their displeasure with Green politicians who had interfered in talks about forming a possible red-red-green coalition in Berlin.

Moritz Wiechern said: "I am very angry at our federal party." Addressing Baden-Württemberg Minister-President Cem Özdemir (Greens), he asked: "Could you please just hold back for once?" He demanded that Green Party leader Felix Banaszak step back. "Let us just do things!" Özdemir and Banaszak had criticized the Left in Berlin, which faces allegations of antisemitism and connections to clan criminality.

Eastern Strategy Adopted

At their meeting in Leipzig, the youth organization also adopted an Eastern strategy titled "Determined in the East, Solidary in the West." Because the youth organization lacks members, money, and personnel in the eastern German states, partnerships with groups from the West are intended to help close gaps.

Source: dpa/doli