From nuclear energy to sending weapons to Ukraine, Die Grünen embraced pragmatism in 2022. Can its politicians hold their nerve?
Germany’s Green party once made its name campaigning against high military spending, nuclear power and dirty fossil fuels.
Since taking office as part of Olaf Scholz’s three-party “traffic light” coalition government last December, however, Die Grünen have become the Bundestag’s most vocal advocates of supporting the Ukrainian resistance with heavy weapons. They have extended the running time of three nuclear power stations due to shut down at the end of the year, reactivated mothballed coal plants and built the country’s first terminals for importing fossil fuel in liquefied form.