Green Party members approve sweeping statute overhaul: all 17 proposals pass

Overwhelming mandate for reform

The German Green Party's membership voted by a clear margin to approve all 17 amendments to its statutes, the party leadership announced on Wednesday. The ballot, conducted online and by mail, ran for three weeks and attracted participation from just under 35 percent of the roughly 184,000 eligible members. A party spokesperson noted that 15 amendments secured a two-thirds majority, while the remaining two passed with a simple majority. The result is a strong endorsement for party co-chairs Franziska Brantner and Felix Banaszak, who had campaigned vigorously for the package.

What will change

The most visible symbol of the overhaul is the creation of a general secretary post, replacing the existing role of political director. Pegah Edalatian, who currently holds the political director position, said her duties would not change.

“Nothing changes about my duties; it's merely a name change for the function.”

Behind the title change is a deeper restructuring aimed at making the Greens' notoriously lengthy party conferences more efficient. Motions from the grassroots will now require support from 0.05 percent of the membership (approximately 90 signatories, at least half of them women), up from the previous 50 signatures. Spontaneous candidacies for the federal board will need backing from three district assemblies or a state board, or the support of 10 percent of delegates at the federal party conference. The party council, a consultative body, will in future be elected by the smaller states council rather than the full party conference, a move that effectively excludes rank-and-file members and brings it closer to the presidium model used by other major parties. Additionally, the rigid separation of office and mandate will be loosened: up to half of the six-member federal executive board may now also serve as MPs (up from one-third), though with a cap of two Bundestag members.

Critics warn of centralisation

Not everyone is satisfied. Internal critics argue that the changes concentrate power in the hands of party functionaries and undermine the grassroots-democratic principles that have been central to the Greens' identity since their founding. "Such far-reaching decisions should be taken by the federal party congress," opponents demanded, according to the Wirtschafts Woche report. Some members even organised via WhatsApp groups to mobilise against the amendments, and a last-ditch legal challenge was mounted.

Leadership counters with pragmatism

Brantner defended the reform, insisting that the old rules date from an era when the party was much smaller and decisions could afford to be slow.

“We are still working on the basis of rules from a time with significantly fewer members and much slower decision-making processes. Today's times demand something different.”

The reform, she argued, would ultimately strengthen the base and the municipal level. Former chancellor candidate Robert Habeck made a rare video message to the party base urging approval, and the co-chairs received vocal backing from federal managing director Edalatian.

Legal hurdle cleared

A bid to halt the ballot by court order failed. The Berlin Regional Court refused to issue a temporary injunction, ruling that opponents could wait for the outcome and, if necessary, challenge it afterward. The plaintiffs, according to the Handelsblatt report, have not ruled out further legal action.