Green Party faces most disappointing European election results to date
The Greens experienced devastating losses in the recent European elections, surpassing any other party. A leading member of the party is already pondering over his candidacy for the upcoming federal elections.
The optimistic expectations of the past week now seem far-fetched as the party's projections indicate a substantial decrease in support. With estimates ranging from 12.1% to 12.4%, the Greens have lost around 8.1% to 8.4% of their previous standing in 2019. Their seat count is also expected to shrink from 21 to 12, a dramatic decline. Furthermore, their results put them back on par with the years 2004, 2009, and 2014 when they were between 10.7% and 12.1%.
Initially, Green politicians chose to focus on the results of the AfD rather than their own. Green party leader Omid Nouripour expressed disbelief, "I don't know why the clapping is happening at the Konrad Adenauer House," (referring to the CDU party headquarters). He stated 17% for the AfD as "simply mind-boggling."
The Green lead candidate, Terry Reintke, also showed signs of shock, "Our election result cannot satisfy us, but honestly, the election result of the AfD, which is currently looking like they will be the second strongest force in a European election, that is a democratic disaster for all of us." Green chairwoman Ricarda Lang echoed a similar sentiment, "That's not the ambition we went into this election with, and we will deal with it together."
In 2019, the Greens emerged as the second strongest force in the European elections, right behind the CDU. This marked a high point for the party with the Fridays for Future protests. However, the unpopularity of climate policies and the disaster with the heating law had led to the leadership anticipating losses in this election. The surprising extent of these losses could prove challenging. The Greens are known for their strong support from the younger generation, often considered pro-European. A higher voter turnout this year could have also aided the other parties.
Hofreiter questions Green chancellor candidacy
The setback was particularly tough on the Greens as they came in third place among voters under 25 years old with only 11% of the votes. Union and AfD received 17% of the votes in this age group each. Some speculate that a portion of the Green's potential youth voters may have voted for the European party 'Volt,' which earned a gain of 2 percentage points, amounting to 2.7%. This party had also belonged to the European Green Fraktion in the previous European Parliament.
Green European politician Anton Hofreiter has expressed uncertainty in the possibility of the Greens fielding their own chancellor candidate in the upcoming federal elections. In an interview with the "Funke Media Group," he remarked, "It's clear that we will only put forward a chancellor candidate or chancellor candidate if there's a realistic chance of winning." Hofreiter reiterated that a substantial amount of work needs to be done and that their goal should be to achieve a better result than in 2021 at the next federal election.
Furthermore, the European elections have shown a significant shift in voter patterns, with the Green's core base appearing less enthusiastic about the party's performance. The Greens will have to reassess their strategy, appealing to their young supporters and winning back those who have been swayed by other parties.
