Germany's Baerbock to focus on crises, not run for chancellor

Annalena Baerbock wants to concentrate fully on her role as German foreign minister and is not seeking to run for the top job as chancellor again.

Instead of being tied up in running for chancellor, she wants to devote all her energy to her current task in view of the international crises, the Green politician explained in an interview on the US television channel CNN on the fringes of the NATO summit in Washington.

"Obviously, the world is a totally different one than at the last German national elections," said Baerbock. "In the light of Russia’s war of aggression and now also with regard to the dramatic situation in the Middle East, it needs more diplomacy, and not less. Because otherwise, others will fill this gap."

In the interview conducted by CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, Baerbock added: "And therefore, in these times of crises, I believe that political responsibility means as a foreign minister not being tied up in a candidacy for German chancellorship.

"Instead, continuing to use all my energy as foreign minister to my role of building trust and building cooperation, building reliable structures for so many partners around the world and in Europe who count on this."

Baerbock, who had agreed with fellow Green Party member and current Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck to run as the Greens' candidate for chancellor before the 2021 federal election, also assured, "obviously in elections times I will do everything to support my own party like it did last time."

It has been clear for some time that either Baerbock or Habeck would lead the Greens into the next parliamentary election campaign. Habeck's desire to run has been clear to see for months, even if he has not yet made it crystal clear given the possibility of Baerbock's candidacy.

In the spring, it was said that the procedure agreed two and a half years ago for nominating candidates would be adhered to. In September 2022, the party's executive board decided that the party base should decide in a primary election if there were several promising candidates.

However, they were keen to avoid a cliffhanger, possibly played out in public. Top Greens always hoped that the two former party leaders would reach an amicable agreement.

If Baerbock had insisted on standing as a candidate, a power struggle with Habeck could hardly have been avoided. This raises the question: How much trouble, how much political capital is a fight like this worth? And especially for a party that currently only ranks between 11 and 13% in the polls?

At the moment, it seems unlikely that the next chancellor could have a Green party ticket. But there will be another time after that. And at 43, Baerbock is young for a politician - perhaps that also explains her decision not to run this time.