What was once left in Europe is now Green. Well, approximately. For the so-called progressives in the West, at the receiving end of right expansionism, the news could not have been more salutary. Green parties have swept to their strongest showing in European elections, taking their tally of Members of European Parliament higher than their 52 last time. The Greens’ surge was strongest in Germany, where they came second behind Angela Merkel’s centre-right CDU with nearly double their 2014 total. Finland’s Greens also came second with 16 per cent of the vote, while in a major upset, Europe Écologie – Les Verts, led by a former Greenpeace figure, came third in France with 13.3 votes, up from 8.9 per cent. Against all expectations, a Portuguese Green party won its first European parliamentary seat. Ireland’s Green party trebled its score while in the Netherlands, Green left improved to garner nearly 10.5 per cent of the vote.
Greens in Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria also scored highly, underlining the fact that voters are increasingly drawn to their pro-EU stance, humane approach to migration and strong positions on climate crisis and sustainability. Clearly, climate change is back on centre stage in Europe, a much needed boost as well. Also on top of their agenda are civil liberties and social justice. With the European parliament’s main centre-right and centre-left groups losing seats and their historic joint majority, Green MEPs’ votes could determine a broad pro-EU alliance in the 751-seat assembly. At the EU level, over 30 national parties make up the European Green party. In a significant way, the Greens would like to determine that their Europe determines democratic values and is not merely a motley collection of strong national states.
