She is the undisputed front woman of the Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia and wants to aim even higher: Deputy Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Mona Neubaur is to lead the Greens again in the state election campaign. The state executive board unanimously nominated the 49-year-old state minister for economics, industry, climate protection and energy as the top candidate for the NRW election in April 2027.
Neubaur's confirmation by the state delegates' conference in Essen in November will probably only be a formality. Neubaur exuded self-confidence during her nomination in Düsseldorf on Monday - and indirectly recommended herself and the Greens as coalition partners in the federal government. “If I had the choice between (the SPD federal chairman) Lars Klingbeil or me, I would choose myself.”
The black-green state government in Düsseldorf has shown that things are different than in the federal government. «Where others argue, we bring different perspectives together. Where others are concerned with polarization and profiling, we make joint decisions,” said Neubaur. At the same time, the Green politician praised Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU), who is seen as a possible successor to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as a stability factor in North Rhine-Westphalia and in the federal government.
And Neubaur sees another difference to the black-red coalition in Berlin: “We know where we want to go.” This is the best recipe against stubbornness and dogmatism and for her the core of pragmatic politics: “Clear and ambitious in the goals, ideology-free on the way there. And always with the aim of actually making a difference in the end.”
As early as 2022, Neubaur had successfully led the Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia into the state elections as state party leader at the time. With her, Wüst forged the first black-green government alliance in the most populous federal state. The governing style of the NRW coalition of the CDU and the Greens is generally described as quiet. Possible conflicts are not discussed publicly.
However, Neubaur did not make a coalition statement in favor of the CDU. “The voters decide on possible coalitions,” she said. Their goal is to expand on the result from 2022 (18.2 percent) and to achieve an “insanely strong result” for the Greens in the state elections. “We are independent parties in a coalition,” emphasized Neubaur. She works with Wüst “very well and trustingly” and “on an equal footing”.
Neubaur relies on pragmatism, acceptance of people and down-to-earthness when it comes to Green politics in North Rhine-Westphalia. Using the example of expanding wind turbines, she said: “We are not doing this with our head against the wall, but with ambition and acceptance.” Participation in the government in North Rhine-Westphalia has not made her aloof, “but this privilege grounds me because I have a lot of conversations across North Rhine-Westphalia with everyone who wants to talk to me.”
According to current surveys, the Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia could get 15 to 18 percent in the election, the CDU is between 29 and 34 percent. The black-green state government could expect a narrow majority of seats in the state parliament.
In the draft of their 112-page election program, the Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia have set themselves ambitious goals and are at the same time pragmatic. Green Party co-leader Yazgülü Zeybek presented the key points:
Education: The Greens want a mandatory final year of daycare.
Climate: The Greens are sticking to the goal of NRW becoming climate neutral by 2045.
Electricity: By 2030, 80 percent of electricity in North Rhine-Westphalia should come from renewable energies and by 2035 completely from renewable energies.
Coal: The coal phase-out in 2030, brought forward by eight years, remains the goal; nuclear power is rejected. In view of the uncertainty as to whether the goal can be maintained, the Greens refer to the federal government: “Now the federal government must not endanger the coal phase-out in 2030 by missing decisions.”
Heat protection: Over the next ten years, 10,000 hectares of land in North Rhine-Westphalia are to be unsealed and around a million trees are to be planted across the country.
Women: Special courts should be set up for sexual offenses and domestic violence.
Internal security: Right-wing extremism, cyber attacks and hybrid threats are defined as key security risks.
A state office for disaster control should be founded in order to be better prepared for floods, forest fires or power outages.
Housing construction: Public housing funding is to be increased by an additional one billion euros per year in order to create more affordable housing for people with low incomes. In the Rhenish lignite mining area, 10,000 new residential units are to be built in the abandoned villages.
Tenant protection: The Greens want to take consistent action against exploitative rentals. “As a last resort, we enable the expropriation of particularly problematic properties.”
