Green Parties

The UK’s new ‘Tarpaulin Revolution,’ led by a revived Occupy movement and featuring many Greens, hopes to capture the imaginations of people across Europe – in cities and countries also suffering the impacts of inequality, austerity and ‘democracy’ weighted to benefit the 1%.

Despite the lack of a proportional electoral system, Britain is now a multi-party country, with the Greens becoming a powerful force. Yet the major media organisations are planning to exclude the Green Party of England and Wales from next year’s televised election debates for the General Election. It’s a dangerous situation for democracy in the UK, with over a million Green voters marginalised…

With hard-right parties on the rise across Europe, Greens can learn from this recent surge in ‘populism’ by developing a positive and inclusive conception of the term. A Grand Narrative about a ‘Europe of hearts’ can speak to people directly and produce a different kind of patriotism to that of the nationalists: Europatriotism.

Greens are now in government in Sweden for the first time in the party’s 33-year-long history, yet the electoral result was regarded as disappointing. In light of the rise of xenophobic populists and a difficult political climate, it remains to be seen how Greens will fare in the new coalition.

The national elections in Sweden on September 14th, 2014, were a victory for the parties at the fringes, with the Feminist Initiative and the far-right Sweden Democrats both witnessing a surge in support, while the parties in government lost out. For the Greens it was a mixed outcome – disappointing results overall, yet also bringing a chance to enter the government for the first time.

‘Neither left nor right, but forward’ has been a semi-official motto of many Green Parties across Europe since their inception in the 1960s and ‘70s. But as the Green Party of England & Wales’ (GPEW) Autumn Conference drew to a close this weekend, the party appears to be maintaining or indeed continuing its leftward drive. The implications could be interesting both for Britain and for Green Parties elsewhere.

The following text was the basis for a speech to be delivered at the Summer University of the French Green party Europe Ecologie – Les Verts in Bordeaux in August 2014.

Long perceived and portrayed as a party unlike the others, Ecolo has succeeded in becoming one of French-speaking Belgium’s four ‘big’ parties in just 30 years. But today, many struggle to grasp what distinguishes the Green party since so many others have adopted the theme of sustainable development. A review of ‘Ecolo, Democracy as a Project’ by Benoit Lechat.

A referendum to pedestrianise a street in Vienna, though successful, forced to Greens to examine their narrative for creating a greener city. How do they build support among those who are still suspicious of what a green transformation can offer?

Against the tide of right and far-right success in the French local elections, the Greens scored a big win in the race for Mayor of Grenoble. In doing so, they created a new and vibrant alternative to the left of the Socialists. What can we learn from this?