“The Greens’ financier”

The German Green Party’s largest donor, Jochen Wermuth, heads an investment fund focussed on green energy, Ralph Bollmann writes in a profile feature for weekly newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Wermuth, a trained economist and mathematician, believes the Greens are “the only party competent enough to get us forward,” Bollmann writes. Wermuth donated 600,000 euros to the Greens in 2016 – making the Oxford-graduate the largest private donor of all German parties, the author writes. This raised eyebrows among the Green Party’s members, whose majority is traditionally left-leaning and sceptical of high finance. But Wermuth says his donation could only have a positive effect for disentangling money and politics: If the Greens suddenly get the largest donations, maybe the other parties will agree on introducing a cap for financial contributions, Bollmann writes.

For background, see the CLEW dossier Vote2017 – German elections and the Energiewende.