Party politics and 5
the environment
Contents
Green parties in parliament 116
The ‘anti-party party’ in theory 116
The ‘anti-party party’ in practice: no longer a protest party? 118
Greens in power 122
The ‘greening’ of established parties 127
Germany 128
Britain 130
USA 134
Explaining party politicisation 138
Conclusion 140
Further reading and websites (see Chapter 4 for green party websites) 141
Key issues
◗ What is distinctive about green party organisation and strategy?
◗ What have green parties in government achieved?
◗ Has electoral success and entry to government changed green parties?
◗ Do party responses to the environment follow partisan lines?
◗ What factors influence the greening of established parties?Chapter4 charted the electoral appearance of green parties across Europe.
Yetthe simple fact of green representation does not guarantee any influence
in the parliamentary arena, particularly as Green MPs frequently advocate
radical policies and behave in unconventional ways. Where green parties
gain electoral success, their political influence will partly be determined by
thewaytheyadapt to the pressures of conventional party politics. However,