Alliance 90/The Greens (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) sits in opposition in the Bundestag following the 23 February 2025 federal election, in which the party won 85 of 630 seats (11.6% of the vote). The CDU/CSU and SPD formed the Merz-led Coalition without them. Party co-leaders are Franziska Brantner and Felix Banaszak; parliamentary group co-leaders are Britta Haßelmann and Katharina Dröge. In June 2026 the party opposed the StromVKG gas-plant capacity law at its first Bundestag reading, demanding binding hydrogen-conversion pathways as the price of support — a committee-stage lever that, if it lands as amendments, risks slipping the September 2026 capacity auction.

Die Grünen was founded in 1980 as West Germany's environmental movement entered electoral politics, winning seats in the Bundestag in 1983. After reunification, the West German Greens merged in 1993 with Alliance 90 (Bündnis 90), the civic movements of the former East Germany (New Forum, Democracy Now, Initiative for Peace and Human Rights), to form the present party. The Greens served in government under Chancellor Schröder (1998-2005), supplying Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and shaping the Atomausstieg (nuclear phase-out). A second stint in the Ampel Coalition under Scholz (2021-2025) gave the party the Foreign Affairs and Economics ministries; Annalena Baerbock served as Foreign Minister throughout.

The Greens are structurally pivotal on German energy and climate legislation: no major decarbonisation statute has passed against their organised opposition, and their conversion-pathway demands on gas capacity mirror the dynamic that paralysed the prior 10 GW gas-tender programme for three years. Their leverage derives from a credible blocking threat rather than Coalition membership, making them the swing actor on any statute that requires cross-party majority in a hung committee stage. The party's position on hydrogen-ready criteria — demanding technology-neutral rules that do not lock in fossil capacity — reflects a broader EU-level debate on whether capacity payments should accelerate or defer the energy transition.

Common Questions

Are the German Greens in government or opposition in 2026?

In opposition. The Greens lost 33 seats in the February 2025 federal election and were excluded from the CDU/CSU and SPD Coalition formed under Friedrich Merz. They hold 85 of 630 Bundestag seats.Source: 2025 Bundestag election result

Why are the German Greens blocking the StromVKG gas-plant law?

The Greens oppose new gas-fired capacity subsidies unless the law includes binding, technology-neutral hydrogen-conversion criteria. Without those pathways written in, they argue the statute locks in fossil infrastructure past the 2045 decarbonisation Deadline.Source: event

When did Alliance 90 merge with the German Greens?

In 1993, following German reunification. Die Grünen (founded 1980 in West Germany) merged with Alliance 90 — the civic movements New Forum, Democracy Now, and Initiative for Peace and Human Rights from the former East Germany — to form Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.Source: Party history

Who leads the German Green party in 2025?

Party co-leaders are Franziska Brantner and Felix Banaszak, elected in November 2024 after the Greens Left government. The parliamentary group in the Bundestag is co-led by Britta Haßelmann and Katharina Dröge.Source: German Greens party leadership

What role do the Greens play in German energy legislation?

Despite being in opposition, the Greens are a structural swing vote on energy and climate legislation. Their conversion-pathway demands on gas capacity laws have twice threatened to stall government programmes, most recently on StromVKG in June 2026.Source: event

Source Material

Bündnis 90/Die Grünen — Official website Alliance 90/The Greens

How the World Sees Them

European Commission

Watches whether Germany's capacity-market design complies with state-aid rules; Greens' demand for technology-neutral criteria aligns with Commission preference for keeping hydrogen and renewables competitive.

German energy industry

Wants the September tender to hold; the Greens' conditions are negotiable but a slipped reading means a slipped auction, delaying the 9 GW of new dispatchable capacity the grid needs by the early 2030s.

SPD (governing coalition)

The SPD's three-year block on the prior gas-plant programme is the precedent; they have incentive to prevent the Greens repeating it, but cannot afford to antagonise them too visibly on climate.

CDU/CSU (governing coalition)

The Greens' hydrogen-conversion demand is a committee-stage blocking threat; the government needs to buy them off or outvote them before the 10 July recess to hold the September auction date.