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100 days before the election: Berlin Greens no longer see the SPD as competition – Berlin

In the battle for victory in the House of Representatives elections in Berlin at the end of September, the Greens, who are only just leading in polls, are expecting a duel with the CDU. “It obviously comes down to a directional decision, both in the federal government and in Berlin,” said Bettina Jarasch, her party’s top candidate, on Friday in Berlin.

The emerging duel “spurs us on,” said Jarasch, who was also convinced that he would finally be able to compete on an equal footing with the Christian Democrats, who were elected by state chief Kai Wegner in Berlin. “If you want progressive politics and climate protection that works socially, you have to vote for the Greens,” said Jarasch, designing a front between the Greens who are willing to change on the one hand and Christian Democrats who are committed to preservation on the other.

The Greens do not count the SPD, which has been in power for 20 years, among the serious competition in the struggle for government office in the capital. Under the top candidate Franziska Giffey, who recently fell badly, the Social Democrats are not getting anywhere, also because they are trying “to be the better CDU,” said Green Party leader Nina Stahr. She was convinced that the election campaign “amounts to a duel between the CDU and the Greens” in the end.

The Greens want to win their own election with a campaign under the motto “Of course it works”. “It’s about creating the climate-neutral metropolis in which a sustainable economy secures our future instead of defending the past at any cost,” said Jarasch on the occasion of the presentation of the campaign on Friday.

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Transport and housing policy, but also the commitment to culture and diversity in society, should be the central issues in the election campaign, explained Jarasch. Above all, the aim is to make Berlin a “green capital”.

Jarasch: “You win elections by voting”

Jarasch would be the first head of government of the Greens in Berlin, and there has never been a woman in the office. Jarasch countered the penalty of the bad reputation of her person with the statement: “Elections are won by votes, not by popularity.” Possibly also a swipe at Giffey, who is very well known and still popular compared to the competition, but whose party does not come out of the polls low.

Jarasch as well as the two state chairmen Nina Stahr and Werner Graf emphasized that the campaign of the Greens criticized for their concentration on the inner cities takes the whole city into view. For people living in the outskirts, the change from car to bus and train should become more attractive thanks to new routes, more frequent routes and better connections. Two thirds of all infrastructure investments would have to flow into the outskirts, demanded Jarasch.

The posters for the campaign, which cost a total of 2.7 million euros, are to be distributed in equal parts across the entire city. “We will be seen everywhere,” explained Graf.

The Greens have significantly increased their budget for this compared to the 2016 election. At that time, the party spent 1.6 million euros. The number of members, currently the Berlin Greens have a little more than 11,000 members, was still around 5000 at the time.

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