Brand New Bundestag: How to renew democracy from within
- Brand New Bundestag
- Nov 20, 2025
- 5 min read
How do we make our democracy more representative and resilient? For the team behind the Brand New Bundestag initiative, the keys are lowering barriers to participation, supporting capable and motivated people to enter politics, and fostering collaboration beyond partisan divides. The results are already impressive: so far BNB has supported a total of 34 successful candidates at state and federal levels. BNB’s model shows that everybody can play a direct role in renewing political institutions from within, rather than waiting for reform to come from above.
Our democracies are under strain. Across Europe, trust in political institutions is eroding, parties struggle to attract new members, and people feel increasingly disconnected from those who represent them.
In Germany too, political institutions and policymakers often seem caught in outdated structures and slow decision-making processes, leaving them unable to respond effectively to the challenges of our time.
This sense of stagnation has left many wondering how meaningful change can happen at all.
Brand New Bundestag (BNB) was founded on the belief that the problem isn’t that people don’t care about politics, it’s that politics too often fails to represent them. When new, diverse voices enter the political arena, they bring the energy, perspectives, and ideas needed to shake up old structures and make democracy work for everyone. Since 2019, BNB has been working to make that possible as a non-partisan grassroots organization supporting people who want to bring progressive ideas into politics and run for elected office. Powered largely by volunteers, its model allows people to participate according to their own capacities and life realities, empowering individuals but also strengthening collective democratic engagement.
The problem isn’t that people don’t care about politics, it’s that politics too often fails to represent them.
In the 2025 German elections, BNB helped bring 23 progressive candidates into the Bundestag and 11 candidates into different state parliaments since 2021. These new parliamentarians are connected not by party loyalty but by a shared commitment to democratic renewal and social progress.
Amplifying marginalized voices
BNB focuses particularly on people who have been underrepresented in political life, including women, people with migration histories, those without academic backgrounds, and people from the LGBTQIA+ community. Their perspectives are still missing in many parts of parliament, and they often face additional barriers when entering politics.
To reach them, BNB relies on its community: anyone can nominate individuals they believe have the passion and potential to bring change. Those nominated can then apply to the program and receive support to take the next step, from strategic advice and campaign support to media training and workshops on political communication. This open and participatory process makes political engagement accessible to anyone motivated to make a difference.
From theory to practice
In practice, that means identifying and empowering individuals who reflect the diversity of modern Germany and equipping them with the tools and confidence they need to succeed in politics. To support aspiring candidates, the organization offers strategic advice, campaign support, media training, and regular workshops on political communication. Die Linke candidate Zada Salihović describes the difference this support can make: “Without BNB’s support, my campaign wouldn’t have been possible in that way. They were there for me in every phase — from social media and list nominations to developing my political positions.”
Support is provided during the campaign but also extends beyond it, as Bündnis 90/Die Grünen candidate Kassem Taher Saleh explains: “Even now, we stay connected in parliamentary work. The perspectives and expertise from BNB continue to inspire my political work and show how cross-party collaboration can drive real progress.”
Making connections
BNB’s network now includes more than 35 members of the Bundestag from different democratic factions, alongside civil society leaders and organizations. Together, they collaborate on cross-party initiatives that link grassroots activism with institutional politics.
At the heart of BNB’s philosophy is the idea that meaningful change happens not through confrontation between politics and civil society but through cooperation. To achieve this, BNB launched the Movement Politics Platform, a collaborative space where actors from parliament, civil society, academia, and business work together around shared progressive goals. One of its most visible outcomes is the Brand New Agenda, a forward-looking policy program developed with over 80 civil society organizations across 14 policy areas.
This capacity to bridge divides and build coalitions is a key strength. “BNB creates encounters beyond party lines and encourages us to see the person behind the party logo. It brings us together where boundaries usually divide us,” says candidate Hetav Tek, “That I, from the CDU, campaigned door-to-door for democracy with Charlotte Schmitz from Die Linke wasn’t a coincidence — it was the result of genuine, open exchange.”
Through continuous, bilateral exchange with members of parliament, from initial contact to concrete political measures, BNB ensures that civil society concerns are sustainably integrated into parliamentary work. Concrete outcomes include a joint declaration calling for unity in the wake of violent attacks on politicians, confidential cross-party forums on the 49€ ticket, and a coordinated demand paper that contributed to strengthening the gas price cap.
These achievements are made possible thanks to a strong alignment on messages and building coalitions that can speak with one voice. “A concrete example was our coordinated resistance to the so-called security package.” explains SPD candidate Rasha Nasr. “Within the BNB Squad, we aligned our critique, built public pressure, and showed that there is a strong progressive voice defending civil rights. This kind of strategic cooperation simply wouldn’t be possible from within one faction alone — BNB helps amplify individual progressive voices into real political weight.”
The bigger picture
This approach is not only relevant in Germany. While BNB is rooted in the German context, its ideas resonate more broadly. The organization’s EU Future 100 campaign for the elections in 2024, for example, applies this model on a European level. It highlights 100 candidates who work across party lines and national borders for a more inclusive, democratic, and sustainable EU. The combination of non-partisan candidate support, civic collaboration, and cross-sector coordination could serve as a blueprint for democratic renewal far beyond national borders.
In a time of cynicism and polarization, BNB offers a practical example of how collaboration, participation, and shared purpose can move politics forward.
The story of Brand New Bundestag is ultimately one of hope. It demonstrates that democracy is not a finished project but a living system that can evolve and improve when people take initiative. In a time of cynicism and polarization, BNB offers a practical example of how collaboration, participation, and shared purpose can move politics forward. It reminds us that real change begins when citizens stop asking who will fix democracy and start realizing that they can.
You can find out more about the initiative and the ideas underpinning it in a newly released book, Brand New Bundestag, written by BNB co-founder Maximilian Oehl and published by Goldmann Verlag.
All images used with permission of BNB
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