Green victory in Baden‑Württemberg signals European momentum

News

The German Greens have won the key election in industrial Baden‑Württemberg, Germany’s third most populous state, beating the CDU party of Germany Chancellor Merz.

Green candidate Cem Özdemir won with 30.5% of the vote and is taking over from the most popular politician in the state, Green Premier Winfried Kretschmann, who has governed the state since 2011.

Ciarán Cuffe, Co-Chair of the European Green Party, said:

“Cem Özdemir fought a credible and consistent campaign to win Baden-Württemberg, taking the Greens from polls below 20% in late 2024, to over 30% today and beating the conservatives of CDU to keep the region Green. Voters have rewarded the Greens who delivered on promises and offered a credible vision for a better future that reconciles economic and climate policies.”

Vula Tsetsi, Co-Chair of the European Green Party, said: "Together with the victory of the UK Greens in the by-election in Greater Manchester, and the recent election of Sisse Marie Welling of the Green Left party as Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, we are seeing a series of victories among our member parties. These successes show that voters want solutions that make daily life more affordable, protect the environment and strengthen democratic governance. These first signs of a wave of change emerging across Europe give us strong energy for the other important elections taking place in Germany, the local elections in the Netherlands and France, and the national elections in Slovenia and Denmark this month.’

published

March 9, 2026

cover image

Stuttgart, Germany. 08th Mar, 2026. Cem Özdemir (Alliance 90/The Greens, M), lead candidate in the Baden-Württemberg state election, Andreas Schwarz (Alliance 90/The Greens), parliamentary group leader in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament, and Flavia Zaka, wife of Cem Özdemir, on stage at the Greens' election party. The state elections in Baden-Württemberg took place on March 8. Credit: Bernd Weißbrod/dpa/Alamy Live News

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