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Gergely Kitta, Head of Strategy and Communications at the Climate Policy Institute and Balázs Zay, Senior Researcher at the Climate Policy Institute gave an exciting presentation on the position of traditional Green Parties after the EU elections at MCC Székesfehérvár
At the beginning of the presentation, Balázs Zay presented the current situation: in the European Parliament elections, the Greens lost almost a quarter of their group seats, and the overall capacity of the traditional Green Party to lobby in the enlarged institution has declined even more. This is also due to the fact that, although they are generally anti-EU and anti-globalisation, they have for decades been the language of balance in decision-making in countries and even in Europe.
During the event, speakers pointed out that these parties have defined themselves as a movement, with roots somewhere around the student movement of '68. A striking example of their leftism is the fact that their greatest achievement, the celebration of Earth Day, took place on Lenin's birthday.
Accordingly, they believed in a utopian world, in the ideals of social equality, which today culminate in support for the lmbtq and woke movements. Their contradictions are illustrated by the fact that, while they are anti-war and anti-arms industry, they are wholeheartedly in favour of a warring Ukraine.
Gergely Kitta pointed out that the generalisation that green movements are left-wing is wrong: nature and environmental protection is independent of sides. All political sides now embody these aspirations to some extent. This leaves the Green parties to promote ideologies that are independent of these. Moreover, it is a mistake to reduce green issues to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions - this very important issue should be dealt with in a much more holistic way.
Among many other factors, health, geopolitical and economic crises that have transformed people's thinking, the emergence of new, more radical green movements, the general anti-partisanship of young people and the changing electoral audience for the Green Party may have played a role in the decline in advocacy.
Gergely Kitta also analysed in detail the other reasons for the decline, perhaps most importantly the COVID situation and the war have shifted people's concerns to the back burner, and climate protection has taken a back seat.
One of the final conclusions of the discussion was that a successful green policy today is trying to find the right balance between social, corporate and environmental concerns and interests. This is also suggested by the fact that climate change remains an important issue for European voters, and that Green Party voters have not disappeared, but have moved towards parties that focus on social and economic competitiveness alongside climate change.
