German Greens name five ministers in Olaf Scholz’s cabinet

BERLIN — Germany’s Greens have selected who they want to run the five ministries the party was given as part of the coalition agreement agreed this week.

The announcement was delayed by internal wrangling over who should get the posts, reportedly because of divisions between the party’s pragmatic “realo” wing and the more fundamentalist “fundi” faction.

As expected, party co-leader Robert Habeck will be in charge of steering Germany’s economy toward climate neutrality without killing off growth at the head of a new climate and economy ministry.

Habeck’s fellow co-leader Annalena Baerbock will take over the foreign ministry. The outgoing foreign minister, Heiko Maas, congratulated Baerbock on Twitter, writing that “with you as foreign minister, the foreign ministry is to be led by a woman for the first time — after 151 years it is high time.”

“To represent Germany in the world is both an honor and a challenge,” he added.

The agriculture ministry will go to Cem Özdemir, a former party leader, with Steffi Lemke to run the environment ministry and Anne Spiegel heading the family ministry.

The Greens became the second of the three coalition parties to announce their ministers, following the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) on Wednesday. FDP leader Christian Lindner will head the finance ministry while party whip Marco Buschmann is to become justice minister. FDP General-Secretary Volker Wissing takes the transport ministry, while the education ministry goes to Bettina Stark-Watzinger.

The SPD, whose Olaf Scholz will be chancellor, has yet to announce its ministers, with reported reluctance among party figures to take on the role of health minister because of the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.