the German Greens, favored targets of the proper and the far proper | EUROtoday

The weight of environmentalists within the subsequent European Parliament will largely rely on the rating obtained by the German Greens within the June 9 vote. Currently, the latter alone maintain 21 of the 72 seats within the Greens/European Free Alliance (EFA) group. A consequence of the 20.5% they collected in 2019, the perfect end result of their historical past on a German scale.

This 12 months, the European elections promise to be way more tough for the German Greens. “Five years ago, our themes were at the top of the agenda. We were driven by a dynamic which notably took the form of major youth climate demonstrations, particularly important in Germanyremembers Hannah Neumann, elected MEP in 2019, at the age of 35. Today, the political debate is radically different. Climate issues have taken a back seat to other concerns like purchasing power and inflation, which obviously complicates things for us. »

Of course, the German Greens are not the only ones to suffer from this development, which concerns all of Europe. But to this handicap is added another: the fact of being in government, which is only the case for environmentalists in three other countries of the European Union, Austria, Belgium and Ireland. “In 2019, we were in opposition, which allowed us to easily point out the government's errors. Since 2021, we have been part of the government. So, we no longer have this leverage to campaign”explains M^me Neumann.

“We are foils”

In the October 2023 regional elections in Bavaria and Hesse, the Greens have already paid dearly for his or her participation within the coalition of Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party, SPD): in these two Länder within the west of the nation, they fell by 3 and 5 factors respectively in comparison with 2018. Since then, the picture of the federal authorities has not improved. In the newest month-to-month ARD-DeutschlandTrend barometer, revealed on May 2, 79% of respondents say they’re dissatisfied with the federal government, precisely the identical share as on the eve of the elections in Bavaria and Hesse. “Being part of a government that has such a bad image is obviously a problem and we will inevitably pay for it at the polls on June 9”anticipates Green MEP Martin Häusling, member of the European Parliament since 2009 and campaigning for a fourth time period.

“As a specialist in agricultural issues, I was able to measure, during the recent farmers' protest movement, to what extent we are pushbacks in this environment but also in other sectors of society, as evidenced by the increase in the attacks of which we are victims”continues Mr. Häusling. Of the two,790 crimes dedicated in 2023 towards elected officers or activists of the seven events represented within the Bundestag, 1,219, or nearly half, focused the Greens. They alone have been victims of a higher variety of felony acts than representatives of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) get together (478) and Chancellor Scholz's SPD (420).

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