Green partiesTable 4.2 Green MEPs in the European elections, 2004MEPs % voteAustria (Die Gr ̈unen) 2 12.9
Belgium (Groen!) 1 4.9
Belgium (Ecolo) 1 3.7
Finland (Vihre ̈a Liitto) 1 10.4
France (Les Verts) 6 7.4
Germany (B ̈undnis 90/Die Grunen) ̈ 13 11.9
Italy (Federazione dei Verdi) 2 2.5
Luxembourg (Dei Greng) 1 15.2
Netherlands (Groen Links) 2 7.4
Spain (Los Verdes & ICV) 2 ∗
Sweden (Miljopartiet de Grona) 1 6.0
United Kingdom (Green Party) 2 6.2
Note:∗The Spanish Green MEPs were elected from two separate coalition
lists: Los Verdes united with the Socialist Party; the ecosocialist Catalonian
ICV with the United Left, so it is impossible to isolate the green vote.
Source:Carter ( 2005 )
Green parties have performed comparatively well in European Parliament
and sub-national elections, where low turnouts and widespread protest vot-
ing can often reward smaller parties. The breakthrough election of thirty-
one Green MEPs in 1989 was particularly significant, providing a major boost
to the greenprofile across Europe. Their best performance to date was in the
1999 election when thirty-eight Green MEPs were elected, and they joined
assorted regionalists to make the Green Group the fourth largest political
grouping in the European Parliament (Carter 1999 ). In the 2004 election, the
first following EU enlargement to twenty-five states, the Greens consolidated
their position, with the return of thirty-four MEPs (see Table4.2). The elec-
tion of the first Spanish MEPs and gains in Germany were counter-balanced
bytheloss of both Irish members and five other countries returning fewer
Green representatives (Carter 2005 ). The green message may be particularly
apposite for elections to a supranational forum because environmental prob-
lems are widely regarded as requiring international solutions.
Conversely, sub-national elections, where the green message ‘Think global,
act local’ may resonate with voters, have also provided an important base for
several green parties. Certainly, in France and Germany, successes at supra-
national and sub-national levels have given both the party and its leading
individuals a higher public profile and the opportunity to demonstrate that
the Greensareacrediblepoliticalforce.Even in Britain, where the failure
to gainaccess to Westminster severely limits the impact of the Greens on