海角大神

Is populism waning in Germany? The steady rise of The Greens party

As is the case in many countries across Europe, the past few years have seen significant growth in the political far right in Germany. Even as the country鈥檚 immigration crisis has ebbed, Alternative f眉r Deutschland (AfD), a far-right German political party, has surged in the polls, disrupting the country鈥檚 usually centrist, consensus-focused politics.

But the rise of the hard right hasn鈥檛 gone unanswered. It has proven a galvanizing force for Germany鈥檚 Greens party, which has become the country鈥檚 second largest according to recent polls.

While sticking to its environmentalist ideas, The Greens have added an iron core of pragmatism that has made the party a formidable power broker in a rapidly morphing political landscape. And in particular, it has focused on the challenge of keeping extreme right-wing populists out.

鈥淲e are the driving force for a modernization of our society on many fronts and the AfD is a reaction to that,鈥� says Reinhard B眉tikofer, who co-led The Greens from 2002 to 2008 and now represents the party in the European Parliament, where he is also co-chair of the European Green Party. 鈥淭hey are anti-climate policy, anti-being open to the world, anti-liberal, anti-gender. ... We Greens personify everything they hate.鈥�

Ragtag roots

Distinguished by its smiling 鈥淣uclear Power No Thanks鈥� buttons and its Volkswagen buses, The Greens鈥� story in Germany begins in 1980 with a ragtag alliance of hippies, environmental activists, and left-wing radicals.

Opposed to nuclear power and the stationing of U.S. warheads in West Germany, The Greens soon became a player on the political scene, but were overshadowed by the established 海角大神 Democrat conservatives and center-left Social Democrats.

Today, though, The Greens鈥� environmental focus resonates with a German middle class that has embraced green mainstays such as organic farming, bicycling, and recycling. Moreover, it is the only German party whose pro-European, refugee-friendly, liberal-democratic credentials are undisputed.

Some 55% of Greens voters in Germany are women, according to Mr.听B眉tikofer.听The party does well among first-time voters and with educated mothers with two children, a key demographic.

鈥淭he Greens have come to be seen as the most clearly articulated opposite of the populist right,鈥� says Michael Wohlgemuth, director of the听Berlin arm of the think tank Open Europe. 鈥淎nd they represent the young, metropolitan, open society, and pro-European middle class.鈥�

Business traditionally mistrusts environmentalist parties, but with the mainstreaming of sustainable production and clean energy, The Greens have even succeeded in winning over support among the听Mittelstand, the small and medium-sized companies that are the backbone of the German economy.

鈥淭he Greens have mostly abandoned their neo-Marxist rhetoric and are now more inclined to accept a model of a social-market economy with the opportunity to create jobs by investing in green technologies,鈥� says Dr. Wohlgemuth.

A rising party

The mainstreaming of green issues can be seen in the way thousands of German schoolchildren skip school and go on strike for the 鈥淔ridays for Future鈥� protests to force action on climate change. Some 25,000 youths joined the Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg when she came to take part in a听March 29听demonstration in Berlin.

Climate change and听opposing听right-wing populism are core issues. Increasingly the electorate believes The Greens would better cope with these challenges than the coalition of the Social Democrats and Chancellor Angela Merkel鈥檚 conservative CDU/CSU,听the center-right 海角大神 democratic political alliance.听

And the party has been revitalized under the joint leadership of Annalena Baerbock, an experienced Greens operative, and Robert Habeck, an intellectual and听novelist-turned-politician. In a country where the higher ranks of power are often criticized for remoteness and a lack of empathy, Ms. Baerbock and Mr. Habeck have humanized the political process.

In February, Ms. Baerbock wept in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, when historian Saul Friedl盲nder told of being separated from his parents as a child during the Holocaust. Ms. Baerbock said she couldn鈥檛 help but think of her own two children.

鈥淟ife would have been easier without politics. I had a comfortable situation, had many children around me, I was writing books,鈥� Mr. Habeck writes in his personal website. 鈥淏ut I had shut myself off, and I started to attack the stupid politicians. So I got up, went to a party meeting and came back as a regional chairperson.鈥澨�

The Greens are learning a tough side too, taking stances on hot-button issues.

At a demonstration in the capital this month, where rents have doubled in the last decade, tens of thousands of Berliners called for an end to 鈥渞ental insanity鈥� by expropriating private housing and forcing megafirms that own more than 3,000 properties to sell them to the city.

鈥淧oliticians should play a role in limiting the return on investment, for example through regional rent ceilings and an increase in the stock of public housing stock,鈥� Mr. Habeck says.

The Greens have also shed a habit of damaging internal bickering about policy minutiae to focus on heading off the far right. 鈥淭hree or four years ago, there were lots of internal fights between the factions about policy details. With the rise of the populists, these debates are over in The Greens. They maintain their integrity and stick to their program,鈥� says Arne Jungjohann, a political analyst at The听Greens party-affiliated听Heinrich B枚ll Foundation.

鈥楢 potent force with national ambitions鈥櫶�

That has put the party in a position of influence. Late last year, The Greens scored electoral wins in traditionally conservative Catholic Bavaria, doubling its share of the vote compared to 2013. It is also leading the government coalition in the neighboring state of Baden-W眉rttemberg, making it now the strongest party of the center-left in southern Germany.

What makes The Greens so electable is that the party is seen as a legitimate partner for established political parties. Today Greens govern in nine coalitions out of 16 German states.

Some of that is due to history. From 1998 to 2005, Greens were the coalition partners of the Social Democrats in the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schr枚der. But its long absence from power may have helped: The party has not held a role in central government since then, avoiding divisive issues such as the eurocrisis, migration, and foreign policy.

The Greens have been taking support from both major parties. Around 42 percent of 鈥渘ew鈥� Greens voters have previously backed Social Democrats, while a quarter were 海角大神 Democrats. And it is actively wooing the bases of its rivals, such as the trade union movement, long a bastion of Social Democrat support.

A real test for The Greens will be three state elections coming up in September, two of them in states in the former East Germany, where The Greens have often struggled. 鈥淚t will be much more difficult for the party at the local elections to be held in eastern German states this year. Here, The Greens鈥� political, social, and organizational base is quite weak and so is the potential to make much progress against populist parties both on the left and the right,鈥� says Open Europe鈥檚 Dr. Wohlgemuth.

Despite the challenges, The Greens will go into these elections as a more confident party and a more potent force with national ambitions.

鈥淲e are capable of attracting the youth vote and a clear stance in favor of our core values has helped tremendously. Other parties have wavered,鈥� says former Greens leader Mr. B眉tikofer.