Özdemir ran a pragmatic, centrist campaign for the Greens, who are polling at just 12% nationally. Analysts said that should serve as a wake-up call to the “Fundi” or hardliner wing of the party, whose influence has grown since it fell out of government in Berlin last year.
Climate campaigners pointed to the Greens’ win as proof that support for EVs, as highlighted by Özdemir, over CDU-backed combustion engines could be a vote winner, even in car country.




