I voted Green in the last election. I lost.
The German Green party got a bad result. As a consequence, there now is a coalition between the CDU and the SPD at the Federal level.
But as this article at ZEIT explains, actually the Green party is not without influence. They are not reduced only to opposition. Thanks to this tweet by Arne Jungjohann for the link.
For one, renewable energy policy will in future be decided by Federal Minister of Economy and Energy Sigmar Gabriel. And he has chosen Rainer Baake as a Undersecretary. Baake is from the Green party. That is one way for Green politics to enter the debate.
Even more important, in seven large States there is a coalition including the Green party. That means that Green party votes are needed for passing renewable energy reform in the Bundesrat (Federal Council).
With the FDP gone, the Greens also become more important for building a coalition after the next elections in 2017. That in turn helps increase their influence as opposition.
