Cem Özdemir without the Green logo: distancing from his party? Hagel gains, the AfD trails.
Cem Özdemir on the campaign trail: Reza Mehman and his guest analyse Baden-Württemberg’s election campaign. Why is Özdemir distancing himself from his party? What is behind Hagel’s strategy? And why is the AfD trailing?
This is the complete English translation of the original article and edited transcript, reflecting the pre-election discussion in February 2026. The name transcribed as “Daniel Beyers” in the German source has been corrected to Danyal Bayaz. Political assessments and predictions remain those of the original discussion.
Cem Özdemir and the Green Party logo
Özdemir is appearing in Baden-Württemberg’s election campaign without the Green Party logo. Is that disowning his party or a clever strategy modelled on Winfried Kretschmann? Mehman and his guest analyse the campaign’s dynamics: Özdemir’s distance from the Greens, CDU candidate Manuel Hagel’s momentum, and why the AfD trails in Baden-Württemberg despite its national strength. They also discuss Finance Minister Danyal Bayaz, whom many see as a “CDU politician in disguise”, and whether a CDU–Green coalition after the election is realistic.
Summary
One-sentence version: Mehman and his guest analyse Baden-Württemberg’s campaign: Özdemir’s distance from the Greens, Hagel’s momentum and why the AfD is trailing.
Three-sentence version: Özdemir campaigns without the Green logo, attempting to follow Kretschmann’s model as a presidential, fatherly state leader above party politics. Hagel is gaining ground as a young CDU candidate who appears fresh and competent. Despite its national strength, the AfD trails in a state the episode describes as economically strong, conservative and pragmatic.
Five-sentence version: Özdemir campaigns without the Green logo, seeking a Kretschmann-style role above party politics and leaving the federal “traffic-light” coalition’s legacy behind. Hagel is gaining ground: the young CDU candidate appears fresh and competent, with the coalition with the Greens providing stability. The AfD trails despite its national strength, which the episode attributes to the state’s strong economy and pragmatic electorate. Bayaz is described as a “CDU politician in disguise” because he opposes a wealth tax and supports partial privatisation of critical infrastructure. A CDU-led Green coalition is considered realistic, but the question is whether voters want the same partners in a different order after years of Green-led government.
Context: who, what and why
Who is speaking: Reza Mehman and his guest, who is familiar with Danyal Bayaz, analyse the Baden-Württemberg campaign.
What it is about: Özdemir’s distance from the Greens, Hagel’s momentum, the AfD’s relative weakness in the state, and the coalition after the election.
Why it matters: Baden-Württemberg is one of Germany’s strongest state economies. The original article frames the election as a choice between the CDU returning to lead government and the Greens continuing with Özdemir as the state’s fatherly leader.
Three central questions:
- Why does Özdemir appear without the Green logo—is he disowning his party?
- Why is Hagel gaining ground while the AfD trails?
- Is a CDU-led coalition with the Greens realistic after the election?
Contents
- Introduction
- Summary
- Context
- Themes and context
- Key points
- Frequently asked questions
- Highlights in quotes
- The full conversation
- Keywords
- Names and terms
- A passage to quote
Themes and context
1. Özdemir’s distance from the Greens
He appears without the Green logo, trying to follow Kretschmann as a presidential, fatherly state leader above party politics.
Keywords: Cem Özdemir, Greens, logo, distancing from party, Kretschmann, state leader
2. Manuel Hagel’s momentum
The young CDU candidate appears fresh and competent. The episode describes the coalition with the Greens as an anchor of stability and argues that he benefits from the CDU’s national strength.
Keywords: Manuel Hagel, CDU, Baden-Württemberg, momentum, coalition
3. The AfD in Baden-Württemberg
The episode attributes the AfD’s weaker position, despite its national strength, to the state’s strong economy and pragmatic electorate.
Keywords: AfD, Baden-Württemberg, economy, pragmatism
4. Danyal Bayaz: a CDU politician in disguise?
The finance minister is described as a “CDU politician in disguise” because he opposes a wealth tax and supports partial privatisation of critical infrastructure.
Keywords: Danyal Bayaz, finance minister, CDU, wealth tax, Greens
5. A CDU–Green coalition after the election
Such a coalition is considered realistic, but would voters want the same partners in the opposite order after years of Green–CDU government?
Keywords: CDU–Green coalition, Baden-Württemberg, CDU, Greens
Key points
- Özdemir appears without the Green logo, trying to emulate Kretschmann as a fatherly state leader above party politics.
- The guest argues that the Green political mood has been over for years and that Özdemir is strategically distancing himself from his party.
- Özdemir served in the federal “traffic-light” government, whose legacy still weighs heavily in the discussion.
- The article describes Hagel as young, fresh and competent, benefiting from national CDU strength.
- It attributes the AfD’s trailing position to the state’s strong economy and pragmatic voters.
- Bayaz is portrayed as a “CDU politician in disguise”, opposing a wealth tax and supporting partial privatisation of critical infrastructure.
- The guest argues that being finance minister has turned Bayaz into a pragmatist, distancing him from some of his party’s ideological positions.
- A CDU–Green coalition is considered realistic, but whether voters want it remains open.
- Independent mayors such as Würzner in Heidelberg show that candidates without a party can succeed.
- Mehman argues that politicians should either stand behind their party or leave it; distancing themselves is not a clear solution.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Cem Özdemir appearing without the Green logo?
The guest sees him as following Kretschmann’s model: a presidential, fatherly state leader above party politics. He describes Kretschmann as a conservative Green who ultimately had little in common with his party yet kept being re-elected. In this reading, Özdemir minimises the logo because the Green political mood has faded and he wants to leave his role in the federal traffic-light coalition behind.
Why is Manuel Hagel gaining ground?
The article describes the young CDU candidate as fresh and competent, benefiting from his party’s national strength and the existing coalition’s stability. Unlike Özdemir, it argues, he does not need to distance himself from his party.
Why is the AfD trailing in Baden-Württemberg?
The original article attributes this to Baden-Württemberg’s strong economy and pragmatic, conservative electorate, where the CDU and Greens have strong roots. It argues that the AfD generally performs less strongly in prosperous states than in economically weaker eastern states.
Why is Bayaz described as a “CDU politician in disguise”?
His opposition to a wealth tax, which many Greens support, and support for partial privatisation of critical infrastructure sound to Mehman more like CDU economic policy. The conversation explains this through the practical demands of being finance minister: deciding within available resources and keeping coalition partners satisfied can distance a minister from party ideology.
Is a CDU–Green coalition realistic after the election?
The speakers regard it as realistic. They ask whether voters want the same coalition partners in reverse order after years of Green-led government, or whether they are looking for something different.
Highlights in quotes
“Kretschmann was a conservative Green who, in the end, had little to do with his party, floating above it all and governing the state like a presidential minister-president.”
— Reza Mehman’s guest
“To be honest, the Green political mood has been over for years.”
— Reza Mehman’s guest
“Either you stand behind what your party does, or you need to leave and get involved elsewhere.”
— Reza Mehman
“Honestly, I get the impression he is doing a great job: how he speaks, what he does, the decisions he makes as Baden-Württemberg’s finance minister.”
— Reza Mehman on Danyal Bayaz
“As finance minister, you are essentially a diplomat, if you do the job well.”
— Reza Mehman’s guest on Danyal Bayaz
The full conversation
Özdemir’s distance from the Greens
Guest:
Perhaps they were not looking so good because a certain distance is supposed to be created between Özdemir and the Greens? Certainly. There are two factors. First, he is trying to do what Kretschmann did. Kretschmann was a conservative Green who ultimately had little to do with his party, floating above everything and governing like a presidential minister-president, fatherly, no longer getting so involved in party-political issues, simply wanting to be a father figure for the state. He made that role work, which is why he kept being elected despite being a Green. To be honest, the Green political mood has been over for years. Now Özdemir comes along and says: I can do that too.
I have a similar background that goes beyond what the Greens traditionally want in party-political terms. I trust myself to be that fatherly state leader, just as Kretschmann was. Özdemir is pursuing that same approach. That is why he keeps the Green logo or party name as small as possible. And of course the traffic-light coalition still weighs on everybody; he was one of its ministers.
Is distancing the right strategy?
Reza Mehman:
I do not know whether it is right to create such distance between yourself and your party. Either you stand behind what your party does, or you should leave and get involved elsewhere. Sometimes I even think an independent candidate is a good thing. Of course I know that is difficult at state-parliament level. I like the fact that there are many independent mayors. Here in Heidelberg we have Mr Würzner, whom I greatly respect. He does not align himself with a party; I believe he acts to the best of his knowledge and conscience.
Danyal Bayaz: a CDU politician in disguise?
Reza Mehman:
I have almost seen him as a CDU politician in disguise. I cannot quite place him with the Greens. He may laugh when he sees this, perhaps even agree. We will ask him; he will be at Dinner im Schloss again this April. I have reasons for saying it. I have read interviews and other pieces where, for example, he opposed a wealth tax, something many Greens advocate as far as I know. That sounds more like CDU economic policy to me. Or he supports partial privatisation of critical infrastructure. Of course we would need to look at the detail, but that sounds more like the CDU too.
Guest:
Honestly, I get the impression he does a great job: how he speaks, what he does, the decisions he makes as Baden-Württemberg’s finance minister. Still, I find it surprising that I would place him in the CDU. Yes, based on what you have said, you could associate him with it. I think Bayaz became a pragmatist very quickly as finance minister. An office like that shapes you. You constantly have to make tough decisions based on what is available, and sometimes ensure one or the other party is satisfied. You have to preserve coalition peace.
The finance minister’s role in the coalition
That means you are essentially a diplomat as finance minister, if you do it well. Alongside the minister-president, you are an enormously powerful authority within a coalition. That strengthens you, but also distances you from potentially ideological positions within your own party.
A CDU–Green coalition after the election?
Guest:
In that sense, I see him very much in the Kretschmann–Özdemir tradition. Many people said Bayaz should have been the candidate, that he could have helped. I almost thought so too, honestly. But he absolutely did not want it. I think family obligations played a part in his saying he would definitely not do it now. If the Greens govern again, he is assured of a ministerial post and knows that. He is waiting for his moment; he is still very young. A CDU–Green coalition is not far-fetched at all. It is entirely realistic at the moment.
But you also have to get a feel for whether people want it: CDU and Greens again? Might they want something different? We have had Green–CDU all this time; if we switch to CDU–Green, is it perhaps the same thing?
Keywords
Tags: Cem Özdemir, Green logo, distancing from party, Manuel Hagel, CDU Baden-Württemberg, AfD Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, Danyal Bayaz, finance minister, CDU–Green coalition, fatherly state leader, traffic-light coalition, Reza Mehman
Names and terms
Reza Mehman, Cem Özdemir, Manuel Hagel, Winfried Kretschmann, Danyal Bayaz, CDU, Greens, AfD, Baden-Württemberg, traffic-light coalition, state leader, distancing from party, CDU–Green coalition, finance minister, Heidelberg, Würzner, wealth tax, partial privatisation
A passage to quote
In the February campaign discussion, Özdemir’s appearance without the Green logo is interpreted as an attempt to emulate Kretschmann’s role above party politics.
The guest argues that the Green political mood has faded and Özdemir is strategically distancing himself from his party.
The article describes Hagel as young, fresh and competent, benefiting from national CDU strength.
Bayaz is portrayed as a “CDU politician in disguise” because of his opposition to a wealth tax and support for partial privatisation.
The speakers consider a CDU–Green coalition realistic, but ask whether voters actually want it.
For the later discussion of election night, listen to and read Episode 172 on Cem Özdemir’s election victory.
