Elections

An analysis of Spain’s political uncertainty.

How has the significance of democracy changed, and why do elections not stimulate the same pre-vote frenzy and post-result calm that they use to, and are supposed to?

Despite high hopes for Croatia’s multifarious small parties, and disappointment for the centre-left Social Democrats, Croatia’s September elections have revealed a relative return to stability with the two main established parties retaining most of the seats and leverage in the parliament.

US Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein often cites examples from Europe as a model for the US to try to imitate. From domestic health care to foreign affairs, there seems to be no issue that Europe isn’t doing better than the US on. Yet could she be missing a much more useful example from Europe: how to actually do Green politics?

When Croatia’s first Green Party (OraH) emerged, many held high hopes that it could consolidate its position as a Green alternative in Croatia’s political landscape. However, it has struggled to overcome the obstacles it has faced, as well as to resolve its own internal flaws.

Unlike many other post-communist countries which experienced fragmentation and instability, Croatia’s party system has retained its basic stability for a long time. Yet a significant section of the electorate has sought an alternative – and as a result a succession of new political actors have emerged, with varying degrees of success. But how are they likely to fare at the country’s September parliamentary elections?

The serious challenges confronting the European Union have placed the future course of its integration in doubt. Against this backdrop, young people have a central role to play.

The recent Austrian elections show there is a lot of discontent with the governing parties and their management of the crises of recent years; in particular the migration crisis, which is an obvious boost for the far right. Nevertheless, to really understand what is happening, one has to consider not only the past and the present, but especially the future.

“The Baden-Württemberg flying green carpet has landed in the middle of society.” These were the words uttered by Winfried Kretschmann in his speech following the victory of the Greens in the German land, a remarkable feat given the odds against them and the current trends playing in favour of the far-right. However, elsewhere in the country, the picture is somewhat different…

Green Parties in Europe have undergone astonishing growth and development over the past decades, but has the time now come to ask ‘Quo vadis’? An interview with Reinhard Bütikofer and Catherine Larrère by Michel Genet.