Green Youth Berlin to Red-Green-Red: “We will not support an alliance with the CDU”

taz: Ms. Schumacher, 42 percent of young voters up to the age of 24 in Berlin voted for the Left - not the Greens. Why does the Climate and Environment Party no longer appeal to young people?

Elina Schumacher: Nothing has changed at all when it comes to young people. We simply had a lot of hype about the left - and to make it worse: If you don't want the CDU, vote left. I felt that the Greens lacked boundaries and a clear priority for a red-green-red coalition.

is a member of the Green Youth. For the Berlin election to the House of Representatives, she was number 9 on the list for the Greens. She grew up not far from the lignite mining district in the Rhineland.

taz: But top candidate Werner Graf said in the taz interview: “I’m running to send the CDU into the opposition.” And he made it clear that he sees the greatest overlap in a left-wing alliance.

Schumacher: But the Left was still the opponent of the CDU, and unfortunately not the Greens. Young people who wanted a progressive coalition probably chose the left when in doubt.

taz: What should the Greens have done better?

Schumacher: I would have liked to see a stronger positioning during the election campaign, especially on the issues of young people. For example, compulsory military service, that really concerns young people. We now have to make proper policies in the areas of: climate, transport, feminism.

taz: However, the state parliament that was at issue in the election does not decide on compulsory military service.

Schumacher: But that was an issue with the left. And with the youth protests that are currently taking place, anyway. At the state level in Berlin, the Greens have a good position, but they don't dare to communicate it. It's the same with the climate: 15,000 people died from heat this summer. But that's hardly an issue.

taz: Werner Graf certainly addressed this.

Schumacher: What was missing were the stand-alone green issues, which are not so common on the left.

taz: Maybe voters also voted on the left because they are worried that the Greens will ultimately form a coalition with the SPD and CDU?

Schumacher: From my perspective, black-red-green is not possible right now. We are four candidates from the Green Youth who are now moving into the House of Representatives. For us, red-green-red is clearly the goal. We will not support an alliance with the CDU. Even though the Left and the SPD probably have problems with each other, the SPD doesn't really have any other option, especially if it wants to make forward-looking policies.

taz: Everyone is currently talking about the head of the Remmo clan, who was with the Left Party in Neukölln, and the party is also accused of anti-Semitism. Does this stand in the way of a red-green-red coalition?

Schumacher: The left has to sort this out themselves. If the left wants to govern, they have to get their act together. That's why I'm very excited to see how they go into the negotiations and present themselves there.