Germany’s Greens endorse 40-year-old lawmaker for chancellor

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s environmentalist Greens formally have endorsed Annalena Baerbock as their candidate for chancellor. Baerbock was officially nominated by a broad majority of the delegates at a party convention in Berlin on Saturday. Baerbock has been a lawmaker in the national parliament since 2013 but lacks government experience. In a speech after her nomination, the 40-year-old called curbing climate change “the great task of our time.” The Greens led many polls after Baerbock was first nominated in April to make the party’s first run for Germany’s top public office. But more recent surveys show outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Union bloc overtaking the Greens. Germany’s federal election is scheduled for September.