Greens to Name New Leadership

The Greens, the junior partner in the governing coalition, are holding their party conference this weekend in the northern city of Kiel. The annual two-day gathering of some 800 delegates will focus on electing a new party leadership. Current party co-leader Reinhard Bütikofer is set to be reelected and will probably be joined by Claudia Roth, a former Greens co-leader during the last administration and current commissioner for human rights. The Greens' party guidelines stipulate that there must be two party heads, one male, one female, and neither may hold a government position while chairing the party. Thus, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, the party's most prominent politician, is excluded from running for party co-leader.