How Germany’s Greens conquered the industrial heartland

WINFRIED KRETSCHMANN has a strong claim to be the world’s most powerful Green politician. True, Greens occupy a few junior ministries in places such as Austria and New Zealand. But Mr Kretschmann is the undisputed ruler of the state of Baden-Württemberg, an industrial powerhouse in Germany’s south-west that, with 11m people, is bigger than most EU countries. Ten years ago, voters spooked by the Fukushima nuclear accident and sick of decades of rule under the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) doubled the Greens’ vote, elevating them to power at the head of a left-wing coalition. Even Mr Kretschmann was surprised. Yet he handily secured re-election in 2016, and may well repeat the feat at Baden-Württemberg’s election on March 14th. How he pulled it off carries lessons for the rest of the country, and perhaps beyond.

After a brief flirtation with revolutionary communism at university, by 1980 Mr Kretschmann had found his voice on the moderate “Realo” wing of the newly formed German Green Party. For years he nourished a small but growing audience for his message, articulated in the state legislature, that sustainability and other green topics ought to be combined with innovation and wealth creation. This put him “way ahead of his time”, says Danyal Bayaz, a Green MP from Baden-Württemberg.

Pro-business centrism is one...