German Greens Party co-leader Annalena Baerbock will be the party’s first ever candidate for chancellor in September elections, with growing support for the Greens suggesting she has a strong chance of winning. Worries about climate change and frustration over the ruling Christian Democratic Party’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic mean the Greens have closed the gap on the CDU from 22% this time last year to just 7% in recent polls. Baerbock is running on a climate action and social development platform as Germans seek a new, more progressive direction after 15 years of conservative rule.