dragged out drama: Greens call it quits on Gelbhaar case
Halting the yellow hair treatment by Green
The Greens are washing their hands of the six-month long investigation into Stefan Gelbhaar, their former party member and Bundesrat representative. The party concludes that mistakes were made, and new structures are necessary to prevent future imbroglios.
Since the allegations of sexual harassment emerged against Gelbhaar in December, the party has been attempting to clarify the events surrounding the matter. However, the complexity of the case, together with time pressure, erroneous media reporting, and lack of confidentiality in the procedure, led to an organisationally overwhelmed ombuds office that failed to provide justice to all parties involved.
no easy answers in a murky affair
Despite the conclusion of the investigation, the Greens cannot provide a simple answer to the question of whether Gelbhaar's Bundestag candidacy was wrongfully revoked. The experiences encountered in this case touched on "questions of equal coexistence, respect for the boundaries of others, and reflection on power relationships arising from political positions." No ombudsman, commission, or board can resolve these issues on behalf of the entire party.
Should Gelbhaar wish to pursue further political ambitions, it will ultimately be up to his local association in Pankow or the Berlin state association to decide if he is worthy of nomination. Regardless, the party's reluctance to clearly take sides stemmed from the findings of the commission: most of the reports against Gelbhaar pertained to perceived boundary violations rather than criminally relevant behavior. Furthermore, some of the reports were aimed at preventing Gelbhaar's candidacy in the upcoming federal election rather than facilitating a confidential resolution between the affected parties in an ombudsman procedure. These reports are thought to have originated from the Berlin Greens Youth or their environment.
acknowledging the victims
Many women in the Berlin state association have reported feeling affected by Gelbhaar's possibly intrusive, yet not criminally relevant, behavior. The party emphasizes that women from both wings, with and without a connection to the Greens Youth, have reported experiences and observations that were perceived as boundary-violating, inappropriate, or intrusive, but not criminally relevant.
The federal board acknowledges that the current procedure suffers from a lack of internal party legitimacy, lack of trust structures, and a lack of procedural order, as well as significant rule-of-law deficits and definition problems. They recommend not continuing the ombudsman procedure in the Gelbhaar case. Most of the women making reports do not want the ombudsman procedure to continue but rather "recognition of their experience."
resetting structures for the future
The Greens follow the commission's recommendation not to continue the ombudsman procedure in the Gelbhaar case. To address the issues highlighted by the commission, a working group will be established to focus on "rule of law, democratic legitimacy and feminist requirements" in order to create a new structure that does justice to the perspective of those affected. This new structure will be anchored in the party's charter at the party conference in November.
In the words of party chairman Felix Banaszak, "Every organization, including ours, is confronted with boundary violations and the question of how to deal with them. We want to be a party where a 'culture of appreciation and respect for the boundaries of others' prevails."
The Greens draw bitter conclusions from the Gelbhaar case for all future MeToo debates within the party. They acknowledge that the barriers, especially for women, to report such behavior and seek redress have significantly increased, harming not only those involved in the process, but also the cause of appropriate handling of boundary violations in general.
- The Greens' decision to halt their investigation into Stefan Gelbhaar, amidst allegations of sexual harassment, has raised questions about their employment and community policies, as well as broader issues in politics and general-news pertaining to power dynamics and equal coexistence in political positions.
- Moving forward, the Greens recognize the necessity of new structures to tackle these complex issues, acknowledging the need for rule of law, democratic legitimacy, and feminist requirements in their policies, with the intention of creating a culture of appreciation and respect for the boundaries of others.
