Color of Money and Not of Trees
Joschka Fischer has almost demigod-like status in the Greens party. He hasn't been busy with running the party for years, but it is clear that whatever he says, goes. Hence, at the Greens' convention on July 9-10, people were fixed on what he had to say.
"We can turn this thing around," were the words of the one-time radical student protestor. The popularity of the center-left coalition has hit record lows in the opinion polls, so optimism is the order of the day. The Greens may not have wanted the elections, but that doesn't mean they won't fight, something many have accused the Social Democrats of not doing enough of.
"I didn't understand why the alternative for the SPD and the chancellor (Gerhard Schröder) wasn't to fight, fight, fight," Renate Künast, Minister for Consumer Affairs declared at the party convention.
From protestor to power-broker
The birth of the Greens in the 1970's came at a time when millions in Germany and around the world were protesting against nuclear power, for a cleaner environment and more equality and justice in social issues. Student leaders like Joschka Fischer shouted the battle cry to attack the institutions accused of protecting the wealthy and powerful. Many like-minded activists followed until the Green movement and later a party was founded.
Yet ruling a country requires that politicians serve everyone, including those the Greens once criticized, such as corporations and those who run them. After all, it was the large companies that provided the jobs that catapulted Germany to a world economic power. But now Germany's economic might is faltering and the people -- including the Greens -- are worried. The party's platform reflects this. It is a maturing, a come of age with reality, one could say.
No longer is the environment the banner subject, but labor and economic policy. The Greens argue that the government should cut the hefty non-wage labor costs, which they see as a main detriment to creating new jobs. In calling for such a reduction, they find themselves side-by-side with many from the conservative opposition.
"This country is being dominated by feelings of worry, anxiety and insecurity about the future," party co-head Reinhard Bütikofer (photo) said at the party's convention. The Greens now have put a business spin on their social justice philosophy.
On their own against the opposition
The poor opinion polls for the SPD leave the Greens standing on their own. Yet, if the improbable should happen and the current coalition retains its majority, then the Greens would continue to rule with the Social Democrats.
But the bigger concern at the moment is offering alternatives to the proposals put forth by the conservative Union block (CDU/CSU) and their potential coalition partners, the Free Democrats (FDP).
For example, the Greens flat out reject the CDU's proposal to raise the VAT tax to 18 percent on grounds that such a move would harm the economy and hurt those who could least afford it.
The Greens have also rejected outright a suggestion by the FDP to abolish the current public statutory health insurance system. Freeing everyone from that system puts the burden on the individual to obtain private insurance, something not everyone can afford, the Greens criticized.
"I'd ask the family with a handicapped child, or someone who is chronically ill, and who is trying to get accepted by the private health care system how to pay for that coverage," Fischer said angrily.
The Greens are depending again on Fischer to carry the flag for the party. They may be able to retain their eight to nine percent vote, but the weakened SPD may mean that the Greens will again be in opposition -- no matter how good they fight.