Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Greens Are the New Hope for Europe's Center. For the Far Right, They're Enemy No. 1.
Source: New York Times
Greens Are the New Hope for Europe’s Center. For the Far Right, They’re Enemy No. 1.
By Katrin Bennhold
July 14, 2019
BERLIN — When protesters in reflective yellow vests took to the barricades in France, rebelling against a gas tax that would hit hardest those who could least afford it, Annalena Baerbock was watching closely from across the border.
A co-leader of Germany’s Greens, Ms. Baerbock has seen her party steadily strengthen over the last year. But she knows if the Greens are to become a bigger force, they will have to convince voters that climate policy is not an elitist but common cause, while also addressing their economic concerns.
“The lesson from France is that we cannot save the climate at the expense of social justice,” Ms. Baerbock, who at 38 is roughly the same age as her party. “The two things need to go hand in hand.”
This is the Greens’ moment in Europe, or at least it could be.
The Greens now routinely beat Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in the polls and are widely expected to be part of the next German government. In recent European elections, Green parties gained significantly in other corners of the Continent, too, winning 63 out of 751 seats in the European Parliament, an increase of about 47 percent.
-snip-
By Katrin Bennhold
July 14, 2019
BERLIN — When protesters in reflective yellow vests took to the barricades in France, rebelling against a gas tax that would hit hardest those who could least afford it, Annalena Baerbock was watching closely from across the border.
A co-leader of Germany’s Greens, Ms. Baerbock has seen her party steadily strengthen over the last year. But she knows if the Greens are to become a bigger force, they will have to convince voters that climate policy is not an elitist but common cause, while also addressing their economic concerns.
“The lesson from France is that we cannot save the climate at the expense of social justice,” Ms. Baerbock, who at 38 is roughly the same age as her party. “The two things need to go hand in hand.”
This is the Greens’ moment in Europe, or at least it could be.
The Greens now routinely beat Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in the polls and are widely expected to be part of the next German government. In recent European elections, Green parties gained significantly in other corners of the Continent, too, winning 63 out of 751 seats in the European Parliament, an increase of about 47 percent.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/14/world/europe/greens-yellow-vests-germany-europe-populism.html