How Germany's Greens rose from radical fringe to ruling power

[n2doc]

By Isabelle de Pommereau, Correspondent / March 28, 2011

When Germany's left-leaning Green party was born 30 years ago, former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt dismissed them outright. "They’re just environmental idiots who will have disappeared again soon," he said.

They didn't. In fact, in a turn of events reverberating across the nation, the Greens on Sunday ended six decades of conservative rule in one of Germany’s wealthiest states, completing their transformation from a radical protest party to a mainstream force shaking the traditional political order.

"To see the party go from that to this ... is a sign that it has a strong chance in the federal elections," says Miranda Schreurs, head of the European Environmental and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils, a Berlin-based network of advisers appointed by 16 European countries.

For the first time ever in Germany, and only the second time in European history, a Green will be prime minister of a major regional state. "It’s a new political era," says German Green party leader Claudia Roth.

more

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2011/0328/How-Germany-s-Greens-rose-from-radical-fringe-to-ruling-power

[LiberalFighter]

1. They were organized. Used grassroots and built from the bottom.

[Le Taz Hot]

2. People are becoming disgusted with

BOTH political parties I can foresee a growth in third parties in the years to come. At some point the bullshit meter just reaches critical mass. Btw, you're brave to post this. Let's hope it stays up.

[KittyWampus]

3. Why is poster "brave for posting this"? The Green party in Germany is part of an entirely different

political system than the US.

[Le Taz Hot]

4. Because the Admins/mods are sometimes a little

trigger happy when third parties topics are raised on DU. Context is not always considered.

[supernova]

5. Petra Kelly would be smiling

Petra Karin Kelly (29 November 1947 – presumably 1 October 1992), a politician, was instrumental in founding the German Green Party, the first Green party to rise to prominence worldwide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra_Kelly