Baeobok Craze... German Chancellor Merkel's Successor Rapidly Emerges

Green Party Leads in Polls Ahead of September General Election
Co-Representative Bae Eobok Emerges as Leading Prime Minister Candidate

Anna-Lena Baerbock, Co-Leader of the Green Party
[Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Ahead of the German federal election in September, the minor party Green Party is causing a sensation by surpassing Chancellor Angela Merkel's party to claim the top spot in the polls. Annalena Baerbock, co-leader of the Green Party who has never before been nominated as a chancellor candidate, is emerging as a strong contender to succeed Chancellor Merkel.

According to the polling firm Forsa on the 20th (local time), the Green Party recorded a support rate of 28%, outpacing the ruling coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) with 21%, beyond the margin of error. Until last year, Chancellor Merkel's leadership in responding to COVID-19 had significantly boosted the ruling coalition's support, and it was widely expected that the next chancellor would come from Merkel's party. However, now the minor Green Party has a growing chance of taking Merkel's successor position.

The Green Party's surge is attributed to co-leader Baerbock. On the previous day, the 19th, the Green Party officially nominated Baerbock as their candidate for chancellor. This is the first time in the party's 41-year history since its founding in 1980 that it has nominated its own chancellor candidate.

Baerbock was born in 1980 in a rural village in Lower Saxony, West Germany, the same year the Green Party was founded. Known for her fluent English gained during her studies in the United States at age 16, she majored in political science and public law at the University of Hamburg and later earned a master's degree in public international law from the London School of Economics, earning recognition for her legal expertise.

Baerbock entered politics by joining the Green Party in 2005. She became the Green Party leader in Brandenburg at the age of 28 and was elected to the federal parliament at 33. In 2019, she gained attention by winning the party leadership with an overwhelming 97% of the vote. Since taking office, she has steadily raised the Green Party's support above 20%, maintaining the party's position as the second most popular party.

Aligning with the Green Party's environmental platform, Baerbock emphasizes environmental policies that differentiate her party from conservative parties. She advocates for moving the deadline to phase out coal energy in Germany far ahead of the agreed 2038 target and prioritizes compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement. Supporting U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to rejoin the Paris Agreement, she has proposed a so-called "Green Deal" to establish new environmental cooperation treaties between the U.S. and Europe.

However, Baerbock has shown moderate stances on defense policies, broadening the appeal of the progressive Green Party. Analysts suggest her "big tent" strategy has attracted centrist voters disillusioned with Germany's established political parties. Despite opposition from some party members, under Baerbock's leadership, the Green Party approved a platform revision last year recognizing NATO as "a key organization for European security" and emphasizing enhanced defense cooperation among European Union (EU) countries.

Meanwhile, Merkel's party and the ruling conservative coalition's majority party, the CDU, nominated Armin Laschet as their chancellor candidate on the same day, finalizing the lineup of candidates for the next chancellor. Following the CDU leadership's endorsement of Laschet on the previous day, Markus S?der, governor of Bavaria and leader of the CSU?the smaller party in the conservative coalition?conceded on the 20th, making Laschet the sole candidate for the conservative coalition.