From humble beginnings, the Green Party stirred up German politics when it entered parliament three decades ago. What started as a protest party is now an established part of the country’s political landscape.
In her hand-knitted, mohair sweater, Marieluise Beck stood out in the German Bundestag among lawmakers meeting to vote for chancellor on March 29, 1983. She was one of 28 new members of parliament elected in a national vote on March 6, 1983. “It was breathtaking,” she said. “It actually came as a shock for the political establishment in Bonn.”
Next to her, in a proper suit and tie, sat the leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU), Helmut Kohl – the new chancellor. Marieluise Beck congratulated him, though not with a customary bouquet of flowers.
The young Green politician handed the chancellor a sparse pine bough in the name of a citizens’ initiative to fight the decline of Germany’s forests. Читати далі Germany’s Greens mark 30 years in parliament
