Green top woman in MV: All eyes on Müller

There's not much going on this morning in mid-September at the Ostseequelle campsite. Here an older man walking his dog, there a group of four having breakfast. In a few days the season will end on the pitch in Hohenkirchen in western Mecklenburg. The last guests will have left by then. “Fresh air and nature, that’s a bit of relaxation right now,” says Claudia Müller.

The top candidate of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Green Party is on the election campaign trail. The visit to the campsite on the Baltic Sea shortly before the state elections this Sunday is one of them. Site operator Alex Ehrlich advertises: “You experience a lot at a campsite.”

It is still not entirely clear why Müller's team postponed their visit to Hohenkirchen between their appointments as members of the Bundestag and a discussion at an agricultural exhibition. The few vacationers from other federal states will not be able to vote for the 45-year-old.

Claudia Müller puts a positive spin on it. “It makes sense to visit here and take in the atmosphere.” So she talks to the operator about the power supply, cell phone coverage, and the lax speed limit on the country road between the campsite and the beach. Müller says: “We can only know and change this if someone tells us.”

In surveys, the Greens, traditionally weak in the northeast, are stuck at the 5 percent hurdle. If they manage to move in again, it would be a novelty. In any case, they maintain an on-off relationship with the Schwerin state parliament: in for the first time in 2011, out again five years later, in again in 2021.

The federal politician and former state chairwoman Claudia Müller should not only ensure that her party remains in the state parliament, she should even lead the Greens into the next state government. If the current coalition of SPD and Left fails to secure an absolute majority of seats, the Greens would be ready for red-red-green. The budget politician, who grew up in a prefabricated building on the outskirts of Rostock, would then probably be a minister in Schwerin. She has already gained government experience in the traffic light as Parliamentary State Secretary under Cem Özdemir.

At the campsite on the Baltic Sea, Müller would rather talk about tourism than possible positions. “Camping tourism is an important topic, especially for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.” During traffic light times, she was also the federal government's coordinator for the maritime economy and tourism, which she likes to refer to.

The federal party is throwing more energy and money into the mission of staying in the league than ever before. At the CSD in Wismar, party leader Felix Banaszak marched, in Greifswald, co-leader Franziska Brantner embarked on a boat trip, and in Rostock, parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann donated falafel - there is a big show to support Müller and the regional association with only 1,700 members.

A rank-and-file member from Rostock sums it up like this: “Without Claudia Müller, things would probably be different.” Above all, however, the party now has at least a small chance with her on Sunday.

Because that's also part of it: as recently as last fall, the green regional association was practically in ruins. Previously, allegations of abuse of power and abusive behavior had made the rounds. In the center: Constanze Oehlrich, the group leader in the state parliament who had recently been chosen as the top candidate for the state elections.

It didn't take long for headlines about the Greens' "unbearable double standards" to appear. And the state executive board pulled the ripcord. Oehlrich was dismissed and a new top candidate was needed. The election fell on the only Green party from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Bundestag. Evil tongues claim: The amateur theater group needed a professional. Müller agreed to it.

“There wasn’t much time to think,” she says looking back. "The question at the time was how we could get out of this situation. And realistically, I couldn't think of any other solution."

Müller belongs to the Realo wing of the party. In the Bundestag she coordinates the Pizza Connection, an exchange forum between the Greens and the Union. During the summer slump, the local Ostsee-Zeitung whispered that it would also explore the Black-Green coalition in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for a future joint alliance with the SPD and had “already” met with CDU top candidate Daniel Peters for this purpose.

When asked about this, Müller briefly rolls his eyes. "People meet all the time in Schwerin anyway. Why should I organize special meetings?" In any case, there is currently no interest among the Greens in the country in the CDU, which is only estimated at 7 percent in surveys. Müller is also concerned with the left and in particular with Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig's SPD.

Whether this will be a cheerful mix remains to be seen. “If you want Schwesig, you have to vote green,” said Müller before the election. A counter to Schwesig's own slogan: "If you want Schwesig, you have to vote for the SPD." You don't give each other anything. Certainly no second votes.

When asked, the leading Green Party explained: “Mrs. Schwesig and I, we have a professional relationship.” Translated from politician's German, this means: We don't get along well with each other, but we have to. But Müller sticks to it: “We have a friendly relationship.” But also this: “I’m just rustic.”

In fact, Müller and Schwesig had a lot of clashes in the past. It was about Putin's Nordstream 2 natural gas pipeline. That was 2020. Müller thought the project was absurd. Schwesig then insinuated that she would “harm our state and its citizens.” Müller responded: “It’s amazing how willingly Prime Minister Schwesig took over the communications of a Russian company.”

Snow from yesterday, says Müller today. Nordstream has been ticked off. Short answer, stern look. It doesn't seem advisable to mess with her. When she was asked at an event with former Economics Minister Robert Habeck in Rostock a few weeks ago whether she had experienced hostility at campaign stands, she replied dryly: "No, no one dares do that."