The weight of environmentalists in the next European Parliament will largely depend on the score obtained by the German Greens in the June 9 vote. Currently, the latter alone hold 21 of the 72 seats in the Greens/European Free Alliance (EFA) group. A consequence of the 20.5% they collected in 2019, the best result in their history on a German scale.
This year, the European elections promise to be much more difficult 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 Mme Neumann.
“We are foils”
In the October 2023 regional elections in Bavaria and Hesse, the Greens have already paid dearly for their participation in the coalition of Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Social Democratic Party, SPD): in these two Länder in the west of the country, they fell by 3 and 5 points respectively compared to 2018. Since then, the image of the federal government has not improved. In the latest monthly ARD-DeutschlandTrend barometer, published on May 2, 79% of respondents say they are dissatisfied with the government, exactly the same percentage 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 term.
“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 2,790 crimes committed in 2023 against elected officials or activists of the seven parties represented in the Bundestag, 1,219, or almost half, targeted the Greens. They alone were victims of a greater number of criminal acts than representatives of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party (478) and Chancellor Scholz’s SPD (420).
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