A bounce in the polls for the “new kid on the block” in German politics, leader of the Green party Annalena Baerbock, throws the race to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor after September's general election wide open.
Ms Baerbock, a former trampolining medal winner, is seeking to become Germany's youngest post-war leader after she was named on Monday as the Green party's candidate for chancellor.
The 40-year-old won the joint leadership of the party in 2018 and helped the Greens to shed their image as hippy peace activists in favour of a more pragmatic brand that puts them in contention for the chancellorship for the first time.
With five months to go until the German election – when Ms Merkel will not run for a fifth term – polls show the Greens only a few points behind Ms Merkel’s faltering CDU/CSU bloc.
One poll published on Tuesday showed the Greens moving into a seven-point lead, with 28 per cent of the vote compared with 21 per cent for the CDU/CSU.
Even if Ms Baerbock does not win the chancellorship, she is poised to play a crucial role in coalition talks and become Germany’s pre-eminent female politician of the post-Merkel era.
“It is an asset for the Greens that she is the only female candidate in the race right now,” said Arne Jungjohann, a political scientist and former aide to Green politicians.
Ms Baerbock is one of two party leaders with Robert Habeck, but the two agreed in private that Ms Baerbock would seek the chancellorship at September's election.
The amicable announcement came against the backdrop of a chaotic week-long saga over who would lead the CDU/CSU into the election, which finally ended on Tuesday with victory for CDU leader Armin Laschet.
"For the Greens this is somewhat good timing, I would say," Mr Jungjohann told The National.
“The Greens are currently performing well and they look solid and calm, and they look like they have a plan – and that is in sharp contrast currently to the conservative party.”
Raised on a farm near Hannover, Ms Baerbock accompanied her parents to anti-nuclear demonstrations in the 1980s that spurred the rise of the Greens.
But as a party leader, she has helped to complete the party’s move to the centre, making it a likely kingmaker in coalition talks after the election.
“Under Habeck and Baerbock, the Greens have developed into a progressive centrist force,” Mr Jungjohann said.
“They’re the strongest leadership the party has ever seen.
“It’s a kind of modernisation strategy that Habeck and Baerbock have pushed over the last years, and that’s also what her candidacy is building upon.”
Experts describe Ms Baerbock as smart and determined, with a meticulous attention to policy details.
Critics point out that she has never held a government role, raising doubts about her suitability for the chancellorship.
Ms Baerbock countered that “three years as party leader, being a lawmaker and mother of young children tend to toughen you up”.
“We’re talking about a 40-year-old new kid on the block that not many people have heard of before,” Anna Rosenberg, an analyst at Signum Global, told Monocle 24 radio.
“But she’s now really going to be quite influential as we’re heading into the elections.
"[She] could potentially even become the next chancellor … but nevertheless she's going to shape [what] Germany will look like a few months down the line."
Greens gather momentum ahead of September's election
As a teenager, Ms Baerbock won three bronze medals in German trampolining championships. The sport taught her to "be brave", she said.
She studied law and political science in Hannover before taking a master’s degree in international law at the London School of Economics.
After trying her hand at journalism, she joined the Greens in 2005 and entered the German parliament in 2013.
The Greens, who were junior partners in a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) from 1998 to 2005, won 8.9 per cent of the vote at the last election in 2017.
All other parties see their main rivals in the Green party
But growing concern about climate change and disenchantment with the political establishment fuelled a surge in support over the past few years.
Meanwhile, the CDU/CSU poll numbers slumped in February and March amid anger over Germany's handling of the pandemic.
Current polls suggest the Greens could take more than 20 per cent of the vote at September’s election and vault into second place – or even first.
That could open the door to a coalition with the CDU/CSU, in which either Mr Laschet or Ms Baerbock would probably become chancellor.
Alternatively, the Greens could seek a centre-left alliance with other parties, including the SPD.
A Green-led government would make Ms Baerbock Germany's youngest chancellor yet, beating the record set by Ms Merkel when she came to office in 2005 at the age of 51.
Ms Baerbock would also be the first Green leader of a major world economy.
If the Greens come to power, Ms Baerbock said they would bring forward Germany's coal exit to 2030, the same year that they want to ban the sale of new fossil fuel-powered cars.
Ms Baerbock is a critic of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project with Russia, which is backed by Ms Merkel but has irked German allies.
On a regional level, the Greens are already part of government coalitions in more than half of Germany's 16 states.
The success of the Greens forced other parties to respond by emphasising climate change as a top priority, Mr Jungjohann said.
“In a nutshell, that means all other parties see their main rivals in the Green party,” he said.
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Calls
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillian, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
4/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP
Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan
Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
HWJN
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
A Prayer Before Dawn
Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
Starring: Joe Cole, Somluck Kamsing, Panya Yimmumphai
Three stars
THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
Price, base: Dh1.2 million
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 725hp @ 6,500pm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.3L / 100km (estimate)
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
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Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
