The Green Party in Bavaria was taken aback by the increasingly hostile public sentiment towards them, which escalated to the point of physical attacks. During a recent campaign event, a stone nearly hit Katharina Schulze, the Green Party’s top candidate. Schulze described this incident as the lowest point in their election campaign, in which Green activists have been subjected to insults, threats, and even being spat on.
The upcoming elections in Bavaria and Hesse are being viewed as a test of confidence in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government. All three parties in his coalition — the Social Democrats, Greens, and liberals — have experienced decline in the polls recently due to public dissatisfaction with issues such as recession, inflation, and high energy costs. However, it is the Greens who have become the primary targets of the German public. The party has earned derogatory nicknames like “forest-destroyers” for their support of wind farms and “warmongers” for their stance on Ukraine. At a Green Party event in Hart, Bavaria, attendees were even provided with tomatoes, eggs, and stones to throw at the speakers.
Hubert Aiwanger, leader of the right-wing Free Voters party, describes this hostility as typical of Bavaria’s politically charged environment. He believes that Bavaria’s residents are more unabashed and expressive compared to those in northern Germany. Aiwanger also suggests that the Greens are partly responsible for the animosity they face. He points out that the Green-controlled economy ministry in Berlin pushed through an unpopular law to phase out gas boilers in favor of heat pumps. Aiwanger argues that even half of Green voters were against this law, yet the government implemented it anyway.
Schulze, on the other hand, claims that disinformation campaigns have fueled the hostility towards the Greens, particularly regarding the boiler law. Markus Söder, Bavaria’s prime minister and leader of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), has made Green-bashing the centerpiece of his campaign. He accuses the Greens of lacking a “Bavarian gene” and accuses them of ideological double standards regarding nuclear power and property rights. Söder’s strategy reflects a shift in German politics, where regional elections have transformed into opportunities for voters to pass judgment on the federal government.
The CSU’s attacks on the Greens have resonated with the public, as evidenced by the growing support for right-wing and center-right parties in Bavaria. The CSU, Free Voters, and Alternative for Germany are collectively polling at 66 percent. The CSU has made false claims about the Greens, such as accusing them of wanting to force Germans to go vegan and use gender-neutral language, to gain support. For instance, during an event in Kloster Andechs, Söder mocked Green foreign minister Annalena Baerbock’s recent trip to Mongolia, which earned him laughter and cheers from the crowd.
The Greens acknowledge the challenges they face in Bavaria, as their polling numbers have declined since the last state elections in 2018. However, they remain optimistic and assert that they still have a strong base in Bavaria, with the potential for higher support in the future.
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