Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size.
Underscoring the growing demand for bold climate action that has found expression in global youth-led strikes, marches, and civil disobedience over the past year, Green parties across Europe had their strongest-ever EU parliamentary election performance after running on a platform of transformative environmental change.
“The Green Wave has swept across Europe. We want to thank everyone who has voted for change and climate action,” Ska Keller, a German MEP and one of the Greens’ leading candidates for European Commission president, said in a statement Sunday following four days of continent-wide voting.
“This trust given to us by voters is both a task and a responsibility to put green polices into action,” said Keller.
As The Guardian reported, the “Greens’ surge was strongest in Germany, where Die Grünen finished second behind Angela Merkel’s center-right CDU with almost 21 percent of the vote, according to provisional estimates—nearly double their 2014 total.”
A #GreenWave has swept the European Parliament with a historic election result 🌻 https://t.co/p3Nr61H4mC#EUelections2019 pic.twitter.com/VCc2qE4Ccy
— European Greens (@europeangreens) May 26, 2019
Greens also had strong showings in Finland, France, and Ireland on the back of higher-than-usual voter turnout.
“Finland’s Greens… came second with 16 percent of the vote, while in a major upset, Europe Écologie-Les Verts, led by a former senior Greenpeace figure, came third in France with 13.3 percent, up from 8.9 percent,” according to The Guardian. “Against all expectations, a Portuguese Green Party won its first European parliamentary seat.”
Projections Sunday indicated that, overall, Greens secured 71 seats in the European Parliament—up from 52 seats five years ago. According to exit polling, the Greens’ surge was bolstered by strong support from young voters.
Bas Eickhout, vice president of the European Greens, said the election outcome gives the party a “mandate and duty to drive change in Europe.”
“Any new Commission should take this into account, as our program of climate protection, social justice, and defense of rule of law and democracy gave the Greens this important win,” Eickhout said in a statement. “It’s time the European Union puts all its efforts into a sustainable future and starts caring for its citizens.”
With much of the media’s attention centered on electoral gains by far-right parties amid Brexit chaos, observers argued that gains by the Greens—particularly as the climate science becomes more grim by the day—should be the focus of headlines across the globe.
“The best news of the night is Green parties winning more seats than ever in EU elections,” tweeted environmentalist Madalina Preda. “The people know we need climate action now.”
The best news of the night is Green parties winning more seats than ever in EU elections. The people know we need climate action now 💚 https://t.co/XlHLjKgZDI
— Mădălina Preda (@madalinampreda) May 27, 2019
Bill McKibben, author and founder of 350.org, said the European election results make Green parties important leaders in the global fight for a livable future.
“A substantial share of the world has finally decided climate action is necessary now,” McKibben tweeted.
A terrifying moment. We appeal for your support.
In the last weeks, we have witnessed an authoritarian assault on communities in Minnesota and across the nation.
The need for truthful, grassroots reporting is urgent at this cataclysmic historical moment. Yet, Trump-aligned billionaires and other allies have taken over many legacy media outlets — the culmination of a decades-long campaign to place control of the narrative into the hands of the political right.
We refuse to let Trump’s blatant propaganda machine go unchecked. Untethered to corporate ownership or advertisers, Truthout remains fearless in our reporting and our determination to use journalism as a tool for justice.
But we need your help just to fund our basic expenses. Over 80 percent of Truthout’s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors.
Truthout has launched a fundraiser to add 310 new monthly donors in the next 4 days. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger one-time gift, Truthout only works with your support.