Ready to govern? How Germany’s Green party transformed its reputation

From nuclear energy to sending weapons to Ukraine, Die Grunen embraced pragmatism in 2022. Can its politicians hold their nerve?

Germany's Green party once made its name campaigning against high military spending, nuclear power and dirty fossil fuels.

Since taking office as part of Olaf Scholz's three-party traffic light" coalition government last December, however, Die Grunen have become the Bundestag's most vocal advocates of supporting the Ukrainian resistance with heavy weapons. They have extended the running time of three nuclear power stations due to shut down at the end of the year, reactivated mothballed coal plants and built the country's first terminals for importing fossil fuel in liquefied form.