German Greens To Lead State For First Time
Germany’s Green party will lead a state for the first time in the country’s history after signing a coalition agreement with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) in the prosperous state of Baden-Wuerttemberg on Wednesday (Germany’s 3rd largest).
Nationally, the Green party also continues to gain electoral support, to the point that local media are starting to talk about a possible Green candidate for the country’s chancellorship.
Experts give two main reasons for the Greens’ victory in March. The Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan swayed voters away from nuclear power and toward greener energy efforts; and an expensive and controversial overhaul of the train station in Stuttgart, the state capital, had the Green base mobilized.
This article provides a good overview of how the Greens rose from a fringe party in Germany to a ruling power over the course of the last 30 years. Could this be a lesson for Canada’s Green Party as it remains mired in the range of 5% voter support in the current federal election campaign?
