German parliament factions reshuffle ahead of Scholz government’s confirmation

As the German “traffic light” government is preparing to take power in Berlin, the Greens and the liberal FDP had to restructure their parliamentary leadership. The Greens’ leadership team is balanced between pragmatists and left-wingers, while the FDP promoted allies of party leader and designated finance minister Christian Lindner.

While the “traffic light” government in waiting celebrated the signature of its 178-page coalition agreement, the reshuffling in the Greens and the FDP will reshape the new legislative that will scrutinise it.

For the Greens, despite fears of fresh infighting between the pragmatist and left wings of the party, Britta Haßelmann, a long-serving pragmatist, received 98% of the vote to co-lead the party in parliament alongside left-winger Katharina Dröge with 93% of the vote.

The Greens chose Irene Mihalic, former spokesperson for interior policy, as the first parliamentary secretary to support them. All three women are from Germany’s largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia.

For the FDP, as former party leader Lindner ascended to the finance ministry and parliamentary secretary Marco Buschmann will become justice minister, the party opted to replace them with Lindner loyalists: Christian Dürr will become faction chief after obtaining 94.4% of the vote, while Johannes Vogel will replace Buschmann and become Dürr’s second.

For the Greens and the FDP, both smaller parties, “losing” so many of their members to ministries had opened up many opportunities for advancement within the party, which will likely ensure the parliament’s compliance as Scholz is set to be confirmed in parliament on 8 December.

(Nikolaus J. Kurmayer  | EURACTIV.de)