German Greens finalize election pitch amid sag in polls

Germany’s environmentalist Greens are gathering to put the finishing touches to their election pitch and to formally endorse their candidate for chancellor amid a slip in their poll ratings

BERLIN -- Germany’s environmentalist Greens are preparing to put the finishing touches on their election pitch and to formally endorse Annalena Baerbock as their candidate for chancellor, amid a slip in the party's poll ratings fueled in large part by its own mistakes. The Greens led many polls after Baerbock, 40, was nominated in April to make the party's first run for Germany's top public office. But more recent surveys show outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc overtaking the Greens, and a state election last weekend brought a big conservative win and a disappointing Green showing. The party still has plenty of reasons to fight ahead of Germany's Sept. 26 national election. The Greens are still polling 20% or more — more than twice the 8.9% of the vote the party received in Germany's last election, in 2017. With Merkel stepping down after 16 years in power, no candidate has the advantage of incumbency. Still, a prominent lawmaker and former party leader cautioned members against forcing radical changes to the Greens' draft election platform during a three-day online congress that opened Friday. The platform foresees speeding up Germany's exit from coal-fired power, raising carbon prices and massively increasing infrastructure spending.