Party exclusion proceedings against palmer not an issue at present

The greens have given their controversial tubingen mayor boris palmer a clear warning shot – but an expulsion from the party is currently not an issue.

The executive committee of the southwest green party called on palmer to resign from the party on friday evening. "The state executive board expects boris palmer to leave our party." palmer wants to stay with the greens according to his own statements. The federal party is not currently seeking exclusion proceedings.

"The cursory review has shown how difficult it is to assess the chances of success," a party spokeswoman told the deutsche presse-agentur in berlin on saturday. "We therefore place our joint attention on the political mabnahmen."The federal executive board made it clear at the beginning of the week that it would no longer support palmer politically. The baden-wurttemberg state board has now done the same thing. "So now everyone knows that boris palmer speaks only for himself, not for the greens."

Palmer had caused a stir several times with provocative remarks, most recently with a sentence on the treatment of corona patients. "We may save people in germany who were dead in half a year anyway," he said in an interview. He explained his statement with concern for children at risk of poverty, especially in developing countries, whose lives are threatened by the economic consequences of the lockdown. Palmer conceded, however, that his sentence, out of context and sharply worded, had given rise to misunderstanding. He had not spoken of abandoning old and sick people. "It goes without saying that i expect every human being to receive the best possible medical care."

Palmer called on the greens to engage in an open, argumentative debate with him. He is being judged for something he did not say. The grunes participated in transforming democracy into an "arena of elevation," he said. In facebook he wrote on saturday: "I’ve been a member of the grunen since 1995 and have been oberburgermeister for 14 years. The question of whether i represent the fundamental values can also be judged by my actions."

According to their own statements, the baden-wurttemberg greens reserve the right to take legal action against palmer. The state party’s bylaws list possible disciplinary actions against party members: warnings, disqualification from leadership, temporary suspension of membership rights for up to two years, and expulsion from the party.

In an interview with "spiegel" before the state association’s decision, federal leader annalena baerbock said of palmer: "we are a free country, anyone can say what they want. But we have the freedom to make it clear that we will not support another candidacy and his election campaign."