Cem Özdemir wants to be the top candidate in the state elections

Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir wants to be the top candidate of the Greens BW in the state elections in spring 2026. In a four-page letter to the people of Baden-Württemberg, which was published on Friday afternoon, the 58-year-old puts an end to months of speculation: “My decision is made: I want to serve you, dear fellow citizens, as Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg and give everything for this country.”

My decision is made: I want to serve you, dear fellow citizens, as Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg and give everything for this country. Cem Özdemir, Green Party

Özdemir publishes letter: “Decided for Baden-Württemberg”

Özdemir has long been considered a certain candidate within the party. He is to succeed Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann after a possible election victory. The 76-year-old Kretschmann announced some time ago that he would not run again after three terms. In the letter entitled “Decided for Baden-Württemberg”, Özdemir writes that it means a lot to him “that Winfried Kretschmann supports my decision wholeheartedly”.

In fact, the longing was great among many Greens. Many are happy that the months or even years of hiding is over. Özdemir was long considered the successor candidate to Kretschmann, who has been going it alone for 13 years as the only Green head of government in a German federal state.

Now the Federal Minister of Agriculture has made up his mind: Özdemir wants to say goodbye to federal politics after several decades and prevent the Greens from losing power in the state elections in spring 2026.

Özdemir recalls his mother’s warning: “Always give everything for this country”

In the letter, the trained social worker and member of the Bundestag from Stuttgart writes: “The people who live here are close to my heart. They have given me and my parents a lot and made it possible.” He is “very aware of the great responsibility it means to lead this wonderful country as Prime Minister. I have therefore examined myself thoroughly. I thought a lot about my parents, especially about a warning from my mother: ‘Cem, this country has made it possible for you to become a member of parliament. That is a great honor. But above all, it is an obligation to always give everything for this country'”.

The people who live here are close to my heart. They have given me and my parents a lot and made it possible. Cem Özdemir, Green Party

He, the son of Turkish parents who came to Germany in the early 1960s, met here and settled in Bad Urach (Reutlingen district). The letter begins: “My name is Cem Özdemir. I was born and grew up in Bad Urach, at the foot of the Swabian Alb. Our country has shaped my values, my beliefs and my view of life. It has opened up opportunities for me, challenged me and grounded me.”

Difficult starting position: Green Party BW far behind CDU in polls

The political starting position for Özdemir is difficult, however. Kretschmann’s Green Party, which achieved a record of 32.6 percent in the 2021 election, is only at 18 percent in polls. The small coalition partner CDU with the young chairman Manuel Hagel is at 34 percent – also thanks to the tailwind from Berlin. Although the state Greens’ rating is still significantly higher than the level of the ailing federal party at just over 10 percent, the strategists in BW are deeply worried. Their hopes are resting on Özdemir, the self-proclaimed “Anatolian Swabian”.

When the latest poll results came in recently, the two state leaders Lena Schwelling and Pascal Haggenmüller declared that the Greens urgently needed to regain credibility. “This can best be achieved through strong personalities. With a convincing personnel offer for our beautiful state, we as a party will work together to reverse the trend and consistently continue our pragmatic course.”

Özdemir is seen by many Greens as a beacon of hope and an ideal candidate

Many Greens consider Özdemir to be the ideal candidate to succeed Kretschmann. The man is well-known nationwide and politically experienced, he is considered extremely pragmatic and a good speaker. In the federal election, he won his Stuttgart constituency with 40 percent of the vote and became his party’s top vote-getter – no Green direct candidate did better than him. The latest BW trend showed that 89 percent of people in Baden-Württemberg know Özdemir. 44 percent are satisfied with his work, the other half are less or not at all satisfied (45 percent).

Green strategists are convinced that it is a great advantage that people know what to expect from the experienced government Özdemir. The situation is completely different with CDU state leader Hagel (36), who is likely to be Özdemir’s competitor and wants to end the Union’s dry spell. The Infratest dimap survey recently showed that only a third of people in BW know Hagel. Among those who feel confident enough to make a judgment, praise and criticism are roughly balanced (17 to 16 percent).

Özdemir as a prominent minister of the traffic light coalition: A disadvantage for the ambitions in BW?

But there is also concern that Özdemir could become a victim of the nationwide green downward trend. He is a prominent minister in the traffic light government, which is more unpopular than ever before. But Özdemir always manages to distance himself from his own government, for example during the farmers’ protests at the beginning of the year. He faced the angry farmers – especially in BW – and claimed that he had known nothing about the abolition of subsidies. Özdemir later emphasized that the partial withdrawal of the plans was his fault.

There are also doubts about Özdemir among the Greens

But even among the Greens there are doubters who believe that Kretschmann’s shoes could be too big for Özdemir. Dieter Salomon, former mayor of Freiburg, said in the SWR video podcast “Zur Sache intensiv” in the summer that Özdemir is indeed a very popular and experienced politician. “But I do have concerns about whether he can get as many votes as Winfried Kretschmann did beyond the core Green clientele.” Salomon also questioned whether the people of BW want a politician with Turkish roots as head of government. “I would be happy to be wrong in the interests of Cem, whom I would wish to win. But I don’t think that is as easy as some Greens imagine.”

For other Greens, it would be Özdemir’s crowning achievement after a long political career – others say it is his last option for a high office. Because whether the Greens will ever get into the federal government again, given the current trend, is more than uncertain. In addition, the designated candidate for chancellor, Robert Habeck, and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock are always ahead of Özdemir when it comes to important personnel decisions.

What makes Cem Özdemir tick? A good two years ago, the Bad Urach native was a guest on the show “SWR1 Leute” and gave many personal insights. More on this in the video:

Kretschmann and Özdemir are now under close observation. Where do they agree, where do they not? Özdemir is still in Berlin, but he probably won’t be able to stay out of state politics completely. As the Green Party’s top candidate, he will be asked for his opinion and will then have to position himself. Baden-Württemberg may therefore have a long election campaign ahead of him. Hagel cannot leave the stage to Özdemir. This could also affect the government work of the green-black state government.

Cem Özdemir: A steep career with setbacks

The social worker has had an eventful career with the Greens – with ups and downs. At the age of 16, he joined the Green Party, and in 1994 he made the leap into the Bundestag. In 2002 he left parliament after two affairs: he was said to have used bonus miles he had earned on the job for personal purposes and to have accepted a private loan from a PR consultant. After a break, he moved into the EU Parliament in 2004. A few years later he made the leap into the dual leadership of the federal party – and remained there until 2018.

He entered the 2017 federal election as the top candidate. If a Jamaica coalition had come about under Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), Özdemir would probably have taken over the post of Foreign Minister. This was not to happen because of the FDP’s withdrawal. With the rise of Baerbock and Habeck to the top of the party in 2018, Özdemir faded into the background. Nevertheless, the vegetarian became the traffic light coalition’s agriculture minister three years ago, overtaking Anton Hofreiter.

Although Özdemir is a federal politician, he is noticeably often seen at events in BW. The 58-year-old is a big fan of VfB Stuttgart and is often at home games in the stadium. At the end of last year, he announced his separation from his wife, a journalist. The two have two children. Özdemir is now said to be with a Canadian lawyer who is 20 years younger than him.