European Green Parties

Green parties have held government office in more than a dozen countries in Eastern and Western Europe. The following case studies provide some basic factual information about green politics in these countries. The description for each country follows the same structure: First, a brief history of green politics is given, followed by details of the party's government involvement. These details include a list of government ministers, limited to ministers of cabinet rank. In countries where greens have only obtained junior government positions, the names of junior ministers are listed. Otherwise, junior government appointments are not listed. Finally, a brief assessment of the current position of green parties in each country is provided.

In some countries, the classification of parties—and thus governments—as "green" could be viewed as a matter of debate. As a general rule, the classifications follow the assessments of green parties by the European Federation of Green Parties. For the early years of Eastern European transition politics, this often was not possible, and individual cases were assessed on their own merits.

For sources of information on individual countries, please consult the endnotes provided in the printed article.

History
The Estonian green movement emerged in the late 1980s out of local environmental protests and became the focus of anticommunist activists and the fight for independence. The movement set out to participate in elections; in August 1989, a separate Estonian Green Party was formed. In the first national democratic elections to the Estonian Supreme Council in March 1990, eight greens were elected.

Entry into National Government (1990)
The new council elected the first noncommunist government in April 1990. Individual ministers were elected to represent different groups of the democratic spectrum. The chairman of the Estonian greens, Toomas Frey, was elected to the position of environment minister.

Government Ministers
Toomas Frey, Environment Minister, later replaced by Tönis Kaasik, 1990–92.
Exit from Government (1992)
Independence was secured in 1991. The first democratic parliamentary elections took place in September 1992. The Estonian Green Party achieved only 2.6 percent of the vote and one member of parliament, and afterward took no further part in governing the country.

Current Position
In the 1995 elections, the greens polled only 0.8 percent and failed to enter parliament. The introduction of stricter party registration provisions requiring a minimum of 1,000 members meant that the Estonian Green Party ceased to be a legally registered party in 1998 and could not take part in the 1999 elections.

History
ZS was formed in the 1980s from a strong environmental and antinuclear movement and quickly joined a broad coalition of anticommunist democratic parties called DEMOS. In the first postcommunist elections on 8 April 1990, members of three houses of parliament (80 members each) were elected. Overall, 17 ZS members of parliament (MPs) were elected and DEMOS held 126 of the 240 seats.

Entry into National Government (1990)
The greens entered government as part of the pre-election DEMOS coalition. With four cabinet-level appointments (increasing to five in 1992), ZS acquired the largest ministerial representation of any green party in history.

Government Ministers
Leopold Seserko, Deputy Prime Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development, 1990–92; Miha Jazbinsek, Minister of Environmental Conservation and Land Use Management, 1990–94; Peter Tancig, Minister for Research and Technology, 1990–92; Miha Tomsic, Minister for Power Engineering, 1990–92; and Bozidar Voljc, Minister of Health, Family and Social Security, 1992–97.

Exit from Government (1994)
Once the communist regime was replaced and Slovenian independence was secured in 1991, the DEMOS coalition had served its purpose and was abandoned. In the first elections after independence in 1992, ZS competed independently and obtained five seats in the new parliament. Its role was then diminished, and it retained only two cabinet posts (environment and health). Shortly afterward, ZS split between reformist politicians and the more radical grassroots party. The green MPs set up their own party, ZESS, in early 1993. In March 1994, ZESS effectively dissolved into the Liberal Democrat Party, with most senior green politicians, including all former green cabinet ministers of 1990, joining the new party. Thus, the participation of a separate green party in government ended.

Current Position
After the ZESS break away, ZS found it difficult to reclaim an important role in Slovenian party politics and has failed to win parliamentary representation. A rival green party, Green Alternative, was set up by former green Deputy Prime Minister Leo Seserko. Public interest in environmental issues in the 1990s was very low.

Party: Ecoglasnost; Conservative and Ecological Party; Political Club Ecoglasnost; and Green Party of Bulgaria.

History
Ecoglasnost was formed from a grassroots environmental movement in March 1989 and quickly became a focal point of anticommunist resistance and a cradle for a new elite of politicians. In December 1989, it was involved in the formation of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), a broad anticommunist alliance. A separate Green Party of Bulgaria also was formed in December 1989 and joined UDF in January 1990. UDF was headed by Ecoglasnost General Secretary Aleksandar Karakacanov, but other Ecoglasnost members did not join. Some of them organized the Political Club Ecoglasnost in April 1990 to represent the movement in electoral politics. Some Ecoglasnost members participated in the June 1990 elections on the UDF ticket.

Entry into National Government (1990)
UDF became the main anticommunist party of the transition period. After the first postcommunist prime minister, Dimitar Popov, was installed in December 1990, two Ecoglasnost members of UDF were appointed to cabinet positions. In 1991, Ecoglasnost and the Green Party of Bulgaria split. Green Party members remaining in UDF, including former Green Party Vice President Filip Dimitrov, renamed themselves the Conservative and Ecological Party. After the elections of October 1991, UDF led an anticommunist coalition government and Filip Dimitrov was appointed prime minister.

Government Ministers
Ivan Kostov, Finance Minister, 1990–92 (Ecoglasnost-UDF); Valentin Vasilev, Environment Minister, 1990–92 (Ecoglasnost-UDF); and Filip Dimitrov, Prime Minister, 1991–92 (Conservative and Ecological Party-UDF).

Exit from Government (1992)
The Dimitrov government fell at the end of 1992 as its coalition partner withdrew its support.

Current Position
The green movement effectively divided into four different groups in 1991 in a major conflict within UDF about its relationship with the heirs of the communist regime. As UDF became more radically anticommunist, the Political Club Ecoglasnost and many members of the Green Party of Bulgaria left UDF and took part in the October 1991 elections independently, without achieving representation. The remaining green elements—Ecoglasnost and the Conservative and Ecological Party—appeared to lose their separate green identities as the 1990s progressed and environmental issues lost their salience. In 1997, all internal divisions of UDF were abolished. Many leading UDF politicians had entered politics through the Green Party of Bulgaria or Ecoglasnost but dropped their association with these groups.
The Political Club Ecoglasnost became associated with the ex-communist Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). In 1994, a coalition of BSP, the Agrarian People's Union, and the Political Club Ecoglasnost won the parliamentary elections, and politicians from the Political Club Ecoglasnost were appointed to ministerial positions in a BSP-led government under Prime Minister Zhan Videnow. By that time, the Political Club Ecoglasnost appeared to have lost any pretense of being a "green" party and did not pursue any specific green policies. The Videnow government resigned after political unrest in early 1997.
UDF won the new elections of 1997 and ex-Ecoglasnost member Ivan Kostov became prime minister, a position he held until 2001. His fellow green minister from 1990, Valentin Vasilev, served as trade and tourism minister in his cabinet. Filip Dimitrov continued his career as ambassador to the United Nations and, later, to the United States.
The Green Party of Bulgaria currently is the only member of the Federation of European Greens in Bulgaria. Still headed by Aleksandar Karakacanov, it joined a coalition of other small parties in 1994, but it failed to win seats; in 1997, it joined a three-party electoral alliance (including the party of the Turkish minority) and two members of parliament were elected. The 2001 elections were completely dominated by a new movement of followers of former King Simeon II, and no green parties won any seats in the new Bulgarian parliament.

Party: Ecological Movement of Romania (MER); Romanian Ecologist Party (PER); and Ecologist Federation of Romania (FER).

History
Political activity in Romania became possible only after the government of President Nicolae Ceausescu was violently overthrown in December 1989. Various green parties were formed after the revolution. In the first democratic elections in May 1990, MER received 2.6 percent of the vote and 12 seats; PER received 1.7 percent and 8 seats.

Entry into National Government (1991)
The ruling National Salvation Front of President Ion Iliescu had a huge parliamentary majority but appeared eager to include other forces. Marcian Bleahu (MER) was appointed environment minister in the summer of 1991.

Exit from Government (1992)
Bleahu lost his post after the new parliamentary elections of September 1992, allegedly because he mishandled a waste-transport scandal. MER appears to have been compromised in green circles by its association with the National Salvation government.

Current Position
Since 1990, the greens have seen the formation of a confusing range of parties and groups whose exact positions and allegiances remain unclear. In 1991, the ecological parties joined a new anticommunist electoral alliance of about 20 parties, the Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR). Its composition changed frequently throughout the 1990s. On the Democratic Convention ticket in 1992, PER obtained four seats in the House of Deputies. In 1996, four PER deputies and one FER deputy were elected, as well as one FER and one PER senator, former minister Marcian Bleahu. Between 1996 and 1998, PER and FER supported CDR-led coalition governments. In 2000, the FER again fielded its candidates as part of CDR, which failed to win any seats because of poor credibility in government. PER campaigned as an independent party for the Senate, but with 1.0 percent of vote, it also failed to win representation.

History
PZU came out of the popular "Green World" environmental movement that emerged during the last period of communist rule. Green World was founded in 1989 and led by Yurii Shcherbak, who played a key role in publicizing the environmental problems of the Chernobyl accident of 1986. PZU was formed in early 1991 and Shcherbak was elected its first leader.

First Entry into National Government (1991)
The government invited Shcherbak to become environment minister in 1991. At first he was rejected by the parliament (which was still composed primarily of communist and ex-communist members), but after the personal intervention of Prime Minister Vitold Fokin, he was elected in June 1991.

Exit from Government (1992)
Popular conceptions of nuclear power shifted and PZU faded from public view. Yurii Shcherbak was appointed Ukrainian ambassador to Israel in 1992 and thus left the environment ministry. By that time, his relationship with his party had deteriorated and he played no further role in green politics. Instead, he was appointed to a series of important diplomatic positions, including ambassador to the United States and Canada.

Second Entry into National Government (2001)
PZU boycotted the 1994 elections but successfully contested the 1998 elections, with 5.4 percent of the vote and 19 members of parliament. PZU became part of a group of center-right parties that provided parliamentary support to President Leonid Kuchma. In 2001, the vice president (and founding member of PZU), Sergiy Kurykin, was invited to serve as environment minister in the new government of Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh. Kurykin was formally appointed in June 2001.

Government Minister
Sergiy Kurykin, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, 2001—present.

Current Position
PZU has consolidated its position. In Ukraine’s presidential system, a party’s relationship to the Kuchma regime has become the key dividing line in parliament. PZU has been loyal to the president and has been rewarded with a ministerial post.

History
The party was formed in 1988, based on a popular environmental movement led by Zurab Zhvania, who was elected the party’s leader. The greens took part in parliamentary elections in 1990 but failed to win representation. In the 1992 elections, however, they obtained 4.36 percent of the vote and 11 members of parliament (MPs).

Entry into National Government (1993)
Leading green party members, including Zhvania, became involved in creating a political platform for former Soviet foreign minister Edward Shevardnadze to assume Georgia’s leadership after the civil war of the early 1990s and the deposition of the nationalist administration that had taken over from the communists. As part of that process, some green party members were appointed to government positions in 1993.

Government Ministers
Nino Chkhobadze, Deputy Minister for the Environment, 1993—95, Minister for the Environment, 1995—present; and David Bashaleishvili, Minister for State Property Management and Privatization, 1993–95.

Exit from Government (1999)
In the process of consolidating political support for Shervardnadze, Zhvania and other Green Party of Georgia politicians played a leading role in the formation of a new party, the Citizens' Union of Georgia (CUG). The Green Party of Georgia was largely absorbed in this process, although in 1995 it still appeared to be present as an independent force, fielding candidates using a green label as part of the CUG list. After the 1995 parliamentary election (and the election of Shevardnadze as president), Zhvania became leader of CUG and was elected president of the Georgian parliament, the second most important position in the country. Most green MPs changed their party affiliation to CUG in due course, with just one exception. Environment Minister Nino Chkhobadze remained a member of the Green Party of Georgia after 1995. In the 1999 elections, the Green Party ran separately against CUG, but Chkhobadze formally resigned from the Green Party before the election. The greens did not win representation in the new parliament. Chkhobadze continued as environment minister after 1999.

Current Position
The Green Party of Georgia ran as part of an alliance with two other small parties in the 1999 elections but polled only 0.6 percent, falling far short of the 7 percent required for representation. The Georgian party system is, however, in complete flux again after the present CUG leader and former Green Party leader Zhvania resigned first as party chairman and then as president of parliament in 2001. The entire cabinet resigned over various scandals in 2001, but most of them, including Chkhobadze, were reinstalled by the end of the year.

Party: Ecological Forum (EF, an autonomous faction of the Freedom Union (UW). UW was one of the main parties arising from the Solidarity independent trade-union movement.)

History
Environmental concerns first were organized in the Political Ecology Club (PKE), formed in 1980. PKE was associated with the Solidarity movement that eventually brought the communist system to an end. As a multiparty system began to emerge in Poland at the end of the 1980s, several ecological parties were formed, but none had substantial links to the environmental movement or managed to win representation in parliamentary elections. PKE and other environmental activists tended to avoid party politics and did not associate with parties that emerged from the Solidarity movement. In 1991, the Ecological Faction was formed as part of the Democratic Union Party; in 1994, the Democratic Union Party dissolved into the Freedom Union (UW). Out of the Ecological Faction, the Ecological Forum (EF) emerged as part of UW. EF members thus became candidates on the UW ticket.

Entry into National Government (1997)
UW joined a coalition with another party arising out of the Solidarity movement after the parliamentary elections of 1997. Three EF members were elected to the lower House and one senator was elected. EF's leader was appointed deputy environment minister.

Government Minister
Radoslav Gawlik, Deputy Environment Minister,1997–2000.

Exit from Government (2000)
UW left the government coalition and Gawlik lost his post as a result.

Current Position
In the parliamentary elections of 2001, UW had a disastrous result (3.3 percent) and is no longer represented in the Polish parliament. EF must decide whether to remain part of UW or try to establish itself as a separate green party.

History
The party emerged from environmental movements in the late 1980s and gained representation on the Slovak National Council in 1991. In 1994, the greens entered the first parliament of independent Slovakia as part of a five-party electoral alliance. Two members of parliament (MPs) were elected.

Entry into National Government (1998)
In the 1998 elections SZS joined an alliance of five parties (SDK) that eventually succeeded in removing the authoritarian government of Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar from power. SDK polled 26.3 percent and formed the government with three other groups. Four SZS members of parliament were elected. As a small party in a very heterogeneous coalition involving 10 separate parties, the bargaining position of SZS was quite weak and they had to accept just one junior ministerial appointment, which went to the leader of SZS.

Government Ministers
Zdenka Tóthová, Junior Environment Minister, 1998–present.

Current Position
The SDK anti-Meciar electoral alliance shows serious strain in government and will not remain together for the next election. Members of the government have founded new parties, and other member parties have sought to form new alliances. SZS faces a difficult task at the next elections in 2002. It will form an electoral alliance with a small liberal party to improve its chances of re-entering parliament.

History
The Finnish greens emerged from a variety of environmental and alternative movements that began taking part in elections in 1980. Green groups first entered parliament in 1983 and have secured representation ever since. The Green League was, however, only constituted as a political party in 1991.

Entry into National Government (1995)
The greens were invited to join a rainbow coalition led by the social democrats in 1995. It includes five parties of different ideological persuasions. The Finnish greens were the first green party to be reconfirmed in government, earning a second term in 1999.

Government Ministers
Pekka Haavisto, Environment Minister, 1995—99; Satu Hassi, Minister of Environment and Development Cooperation, 1999–present; and Osmo Soininvaara, Minister for Health and Social Services, 2000–02.

Current Position
So far, there has been no real green crisis in government, and the Green League has been quite conciliatory in terms of policy. Their challenge lies in balancing their relative weakness in the government coalition with the expectations of their supporters. So far, they appear to be successful. The Finnish greens are doing well in opinion polls and their electoral future looks secure.

History
The Italian greens emerged from a variety of local and regional green movements that had been taking part in elections since the early 1980s. A federation of green lists was set up in 1986, and in 1989 a rival green rainbow party emerged. Both groups finally merged to form one party in 1991.

Entry into Government (1996)
After the collapse of the old Italian party system in the early 1990s, a new electoral law came into force in 1994 that effectively forced small parties like the greens to enter broader coalitions to survive. The greens became part of the main center-left alliance in 1994 that lost the elections. In 1996, an even broader alliance of greens, ex-communists, socialists, Christian democrats, and liberals, called the "Olive Tree," managed to win a parliamentary majority. Greens won 11 seats in the lower House and 7 seats in the Senate.

Government Ministers
Edo Ronchi, Environment Minister, 1996–2000; Laura Balbo, Minister for Equal Opportunities, 1998–2000; Alfonso Pecario Scanio, Minister for Agriculture, 2000–01; and Gianni Mattioli, Minister for European Affairs, 2000–01.

Exit from Government (2001)
In 2001, the greens continued as a part of the Olive Tree alliance but also formed an association with the small social democrat party to boost their standing within the alliance. However, Olive Tree lost the 2001 elections and the greens consequently lost their role in government.

Current Position
As a small party carrying only 1 to 2 percent of the electorate, the greens are highly dependent on being able to join future center-left electoral alliances. The main opposition parties are likely to continue their strategy of trying to build a broad-based alliance of parties to regain government power. The greens have a future as part of that alliance as long as they can maintain their identity with a distinct electoral appeal.

History
While ecology and antinuclear groups had taken part in elections since the early 1970s, the French greens were only constituted as a political party in 1984. They first found significant electoral success in the 1989 European elections, but high hopes for a national breakthrough were dashed in parliamentary elections in 1993. The party split after the elections over the question of an alliance with the socialists. Those in favor of such an alliance won the internal conflict, and the greens successfully concluded negotiations for a joint electoral approach with the socialists in 1997.

Entry into National Government (1997)
The greens entered the national parliament for the first time in 1997 as a result of their electoral alliance. Together with the communists and two other left-wing groups, socialists and greens form the "plural majority" government under a socialist prime minister.

Government Ministers
Dominique Voynet, Environment Minister, 1997–2001; and Yves Cochet, Environment Minister, 2001–present.

Current Position
Overall, the five-party coalition has been stable, with a few challenges from nuclear and other environmental issues. However, the greens depend on the renewal of the pre-election coalition with the socialists for the parliamentary elections in June 2002. They are not likely to win representation on their own, as the socialists have rejected the greens' demands that the electoral system be changed to give them a better chance to join parliament independently. A continuing alliance with the socialists could provide the basis for further government participation, depending on how well the socialists fare in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

History
The German greens were constituted as a party in 1980 and first entered national parliament in 1983. After much experience in regional government in the late 1980s, the party suffered a major setback with German unification. Upon further participation in regional government coalitions in the 1990s and a 1993 merger with the East German civil rights party, Alliance ’90, the greens re-entered national parliament in 1994.

Entry into National Government (1998)
After four years in opposition, the greens managed to keep their parliamentary presence in 1998, although with a reduced popular vote (6.7 percent). After 16 years of center-right government, the social democrats polled strongly and were able to win enough seats to form the basis of a coalition with the greens.

Government Ministers
Joschka Fischer, Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister, 1998–present; Jürgen Trittin, Federal Minister for the Environment, Reactor Safety and Nature Protection, 1998–present; Andrea Fischer, Federal Health Minister, 1998–2000; and Renate Künast, Federal Minister for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture, 2000–present.

Current Position
German greens were much stronger structurally than most of their sister parties before entering federal government, but at the same time they also faced greater expectations for what they could achieve. The "red-green" government has survived many crises, particularly German participation in NATO action against Serbia, German military presence in Afghanistan, and the compromise on phasing out nuclear power. The greens are, however, experiencing a reduction to about 5 percent in their electoral appeal and must be concerned about the outcome of the September 2002 elections.

Parties: AGALEV (green party of Flanders) and ECOLO (green party of Wallonia).

History
Both independent green parties emerged from environmental and alternative movements and began taking part in elections in the late 1970s, first achieving parliamentary representation in 1981. Both were represented in the national parliament throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Entry into National Government (1998)
Belgium experienced a series of political and environmental scandals in the 1990s, and the Christian democrat parties that had dominated government for many years came under pressure. The Belgian greens benefited, increasing their electoral results from 8.8 percent in 1995 to 14.4 percent in 1999. Completely untainted by these scandals, they became attractive as coalition partners as other parties tried to make a fresh start. Socialists and liberals sought to keep the Christian democrats out of government and invited the greens to join them in a six-party coalition.

Government Ministers
Isabelle Durant, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mobility and Transport, 1999–present (ECOLO); and Magda Aelvoet, Minister of Health, Environment and Consumer Affairs, 1999–present (AGALEV).

Current Position
The coalition generally has been viewed as stable. The greens have been able to place environmental issues on the government agenda, but have had to accept many compromises. Despite only limited policy successes, the greens continue to do very well in opinion polls. Their electoral future in 2004 looks promising.

Background on European green parties—
Belgium	Georgia	Romania
Bulgaria	Germany	Slovakia
Estonia	Italy	Slovenia
Finland	Poland	Ukraine
France