Ahead of Hesse’s state elections on October 28, Germany’s Green Party’s main campaign message is against the big parties – to avoid a repeat of the federal level.
“We’re warning voters against voting for the big tent parties. Vote Greens.” Leading the Greens in Hesse is Tarek al-Wazir. Born in 1971 to a German mother and Yemeni father, al-Wazir was politicized from a young age, with his mother taking him to demonstrations.
As reported by Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international broadcaster, the result could be the nail in the coffin for Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s government.
Merkel’s conservatives have been the strongest party in Hesse since 1987 and currently govern as the major coalition party with the Greens. But that may be about to change.
According to DW, voters are reacting at the polls on a state level. The Green Party could cash in on votes due to the failings of the conservatives and the Social Democrats.
Merkel’s conservative brothers in Bavaria suffered historic losses in the southern state’s election earlier this month. The potential ousting of Hesse State Premier and close Merkel ally Volker Bouffier this week would be a huge blow to Merkel’s credibility as party leader, reported DW.
Should Merkel’s party indeed lose the Hesse state premiership, the success of the Greens, some 500km away from Berlin, could come at the price of the federal government.
