German Greens leadership steel party for government

Annalena Baerbock, who ran as the Greens' first candidate for chancellor in the September 26 election, urged the party to be disciplined if its wants to join a government

The leaders of Germany's environmentalist Green party urged their members to seize the chance to join the country's next government so they can help tackle the challenge of climate change. The Greens placed third in last week with 14.8% of the vote. They are in a under the and the pro-business Free Democratic Party, which came in fourth.

A coalition between the Greens, the Free Democrats and outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc is also possible, but currently regarded as less likely. Ms. Merkel's party placed second in the election with 24.1% of the vote, its worst-ever result.

One hitch for either coalition is the left-leaning Greens' long-standing animosity toward the Free Democrats' free-market ideology. Some commentators have described an alliance of the two parties as one between hippies and yuppies.