The wind turns the Greens’ way in Europe

Parties with clear message on climate boosted by Thunberg campaign and backlash against far-right

‘The mainstream parties are not delivering because they are scared of Eurosceptics and climate deniers’

IN THE wake of Greta Thunberg’s school strikes movement, the environment is proving to be a central issue in this year’s European elections.

In Germany, the Greens are in second place in the polls, in the Netherlands they are running in third place and in Belgium they are second in French-speaking Wallonia and third in Flanders. Even where the local Greens are not doing so well, other parties have borrowed their rhetoric.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has recast himself as a climate warrior in an effort to stave off the challenge from far-right Marine Le Pen.

“Clearly it’s a year of the Greens, but I don’t know whether it’s ‘the’ year,” said Sven Giegold, German’s leading Green Party candidate for the European Parliament.

“We are in a period when the mainstream political parties are not delivering because they are scared of Eurosceptics and climate deniers. We are doing well because we are clear on these issues.” Mr Giegold rejects the suggestion the Green surge was the result of strikes led by Miss Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl, to highlight the climate movement.

“The Green vote was rising before her movement began. There’s a correlation, but it’s not cause and effect.”

The German Greens scored a major upset in elections in Bavaria and Hesse last year, denying the populist Alternative for Germany (AFD) party its first big wins in major western states. Local elections in Belgium led to similar gains for the Greens.

“The majority don’t believe the main parties are prepared to tackle environmental issues. You can see it in the polls,” said Mr Giegold. “Look at the situation in the UK. You’re building nuclear power stations and paying huge subsidies for a dying industry. It’s the same here. We have diesel subsidies. We’re investing in coal. We’re paying €50billion (£44billion) subsidies for a failed fuel. It doesn’t make economic sense.”

However, the Green surge has been about more than just the environment. In Germany, polling indicates the party has attracted voters who want to make a stand against AFD.

“It’s not only because we’ve taken a stand against the far-right and xenophobic attitudes. It’s also about Europe,” said Mr Giegold.

“The electorate is split. The mainstream parties are split. The socialists are for the most part pro-european but they’re scared of a section of their voters who are not. The conservatives are the same: a faction supports climate protection and European integration, but another doesn’t want anything that will alter their way of life.”

The mood is spreading beyond Germany. Earlier this month, Mr Macron led efforts by France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg to push for zero EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It failed in the face of opposition from Italy, Poland and Germany.

But for all their recent success, Mr Giegold says the Greens do not want to become a typical mainstream party because “you end up with a compromise nobody really wants”.

Instead he argues their success has been built on sticking to their principles of being a pro-europe, anti-nationalist movement with environmentalism at its heart. “The Greens have done well because we have clear values,” he said. “We have not changed them and we will not do so.”