“The Greens” in Germany: Political Dilemmas and Compromises

Abstract

The article analyzes the political path of the environmental party the Union 90/The Greens from the moment of the birth of the green movement in Germany to the present day. The author focuses on the transformation of the ideological platform of The Greens. Having thoroughly analyzed the stages of the party’s development and its policy documents, the author records the transition of the German Greens from conservative to liberal values, and then from the idealism and nonconformism of the 1970s—1980s to the realism and pragmatism of the 1990s—2000s, from an out-of-system radical position to the in-system centre-left position. The author also discusses the cost of their political success. Does the party manage to hew to the principles it stated? How does it deal with the political dilemmas it inevitably faces when it has to function in a real political environment in coalition with other parties? How far are The Greens willing to go in making political and ideological compromises? And does all this, in fact, correspond to the green ideology? Based on the conducted research, the author comes to the conclusion that the dominance of the realist wing in the party, who rely on assuming power at any cost and sideline the idealists-(eco)fundamentalists who stood at the origins of the movement, leads to the erosion of the very essence of the alternative green ideology and, ultimately, to the loss of the party’s originality and attractiveness for voters. According to the author, the 2022 international crisis is a turning point in the history of the Union 90/The Greens, which will have a decisive impact on the political fate of the party in the near future.