Berlin, July 11, 2024, The Europe Today: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock declared on Wednesday that she does not intend to run for chancellor in the 2025 elections. In her televised remarks, Baerbock emphasized that her “political responsibility” is to concentrate on addressing current crises rather than preparing for an election campaign.
Speaking to US broadcaster CNN, Baerbock stated she would “continue to use all my energy as foreign minister” to foster trust and cooperation. “So many partners around the world and in Europe count on that,” she added.
‘The world is totally different’
Baerbock made history in 2021 as the Green Party’s first-ever candidate for chancellor, achieving a landmark result of 14.7% of the vote. This success led the Greens to join a governing federal coalition with the center-left Social Democrats and the neoliberal Free Democrats.
“Obviously, the world is a totally different one than at the last German national elections,” Baerbock noted on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington. She highlighted the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East as significant global changes, underscoring the need for “more diplomacy, not less.”
Baerbock affirmed her commitment to her party, stating, “Obviously, in election times, I will do everything to support my own party, like I did in the past.”
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck is widely expected to be the Green candidate in 2025. However, following a dip in party support to 11.9% in the June EU elections, lower than the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), it appears unlikely that Germany will have a Green chancellor next year.
