Competing for the centre-left? Urban German Green Party activists and the party–movement interface

The chapter explores the case of Germany, where a Green party was recently competing with the social democrats as the dominant party of the urban centre left, by focusing on the interplay between Green party activists and social movements. Considered by some as the ‘paradigmatic’ Green party due to their swift institutionalisation, the German Greens’ movement party origins are consigned by many scholars to their history, thereby often overlooking the long-term imprint of their movement past and their continued networks with progressive movements and protests. This chapter argues that both these interpretations of a party/movement interface co-exist and strategically interact across party structures and grassroots activism. Drawing on extensive empirical data with Green Party members in three cities across 2018-2019, the chapter first highlights the authenticity party members feel by reproducing a participatory party brand closely aligned with protest and social movements. Secondly, it explores the strategic, instrumental aspect of the party/movement interface and how parties need to interact and often compete with other leftist parties and movements to attract electoral support from left-wing individuals. This investigation into the German context underscores the importance of centre-left parties nurturing and maintaining links and alliances, particularly at the local level, to other leftist and progressive parties and movements, even when in office at the state or national level. By doing so, leftist parties can more effectively promote urban centre-left politics and policy in times of rising support for the far right.