Überholmanöver: 25/04/21

With the Bundestagswahl getting closer by the day, caricatures addressing the upcoming election provide a welcome contrast to the otherwise pandemic-dominated media. This image, titled 'overtaking manoeuvre', shows leader of die Grünen Annalena Baerbock alongside Robert Habeck as they soar over Armin Laschet of the CDU-CSU. Their 'vehicle' is the 'Umfragen' (surveys/polls) - a reference to the apparent popularity of die Grünen in recent opinion polls. The caricaturist's choice of colours is significant here, as Laschet and his party appear old-fashioned and faded, while die Grünen are depicted as colourful, buoyant and futuristic.

Much like the Green Party in the UK, die Grünen have mostly been seen as a marginal party and currently hold around 9% of seats in the Bundestag. Having started off as an 'anti-party party' (as described by founding member Petra Kelly) which emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, the party's first significant victory came in 2016, when it became the largest party in the state of Baden-Württemberg. A poll by Civey on 26/04/21 showed die Grünen with 29% of votes and the Union (CDU-CSU) with 24%.

However, the position of the Union is not quite as dire as the caricature suggests. Although the party is portrayed as a broken-down car which has to be pushed, the subsequent weeks after this caricature was published saw a levelling-off of support for the two parties. Insa polls carried out in mid to late May show die Grünen losing votes and the CDU/CSU gaining: statistics on 25/05/21 show die Grünen at 22% and the CDU/CSU at 26%.

One potential hurdle for die Grünen seems to be posed by some of the poorer, often more conservative eastern states. In a regional vote in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany's poorest state, the party gained only 6% while the Union emerged on top with 37%. Significantly, the right-wing AfD gained 21%, indicating that the general political mood in the region is not in line with the 'green' agenda.

With only a few months remaining until the election, the battle between the Union and die Grünen promises to be tight until the very end, and will continue to be a subject of analysis and satire.

Poll statistics: https://www.abendblatt.de/politik/article232083953/umfrage-bundestagswahl-cdu-gruene-aktuell.html

Other sources/further reading: https://www.thelocal.de/20210426/from-trailblazing-radicals-to-germanys-most-popular-party-who-are-the-greens/

https://www.thelocal.de/20210613/german-greens-back-weakened-leader-baerbock-after-polls-slump/