German Greens holding onto hope for change

German Greens holding onto hope for change

HILDESHEIM, Germany: Rattled by a shaky start to their campaign, Germany’s Greens are trying to regroup ahead of next month’s general election with a renewed focus on climate protection as floods and fires ravage Europe. The ecologist party’s bid to crown their candidate Annalena Baerbock as Angela Merkel’s successor as chancellor seemed to falter this summer over a series of gaffes.

Now hoping to seize on the urgency of the climate issue in many voters’ minds, the Greens chose the central city of Hildesheim to launch the “hot phase” on the hustings, as it is known in Germany, ahead of the Sept 26 poll. “A lot is at stake with this election” after 16 years of Merkel at the helm, Baerbock told a crowd assembled on the historic town square. “It’s about our future,” said Baerbock, stressing that the Greens were ready “to shape it”.

Western Germany last month experienced devastating floods that left at least 190 people dead and washed away billions of euros in housing, businesses and public infrastructure. Meanwhile thousands of German holidaymakers recently returned from Greece after witnessing firsthand raging forest fires. An alarming UN report said this week that such catastrophes would grow more frequent as global