Why European Green parties don’t care about the Pacific island issues
- Admin
- 17 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The popularity of European Green parties is surging across Western Europe, where membership numbers are rising. In Britain, Greens are polling around 15 percent and are now the third largest party by membership numbers. In Germany, they have already served in a coalition. In the Netherlands, they’re about to form one.
European Green parties focus on environmental protection, climate change, social justice, peace, democracy and human rights. Their rising popularity has prompted mainstream parties to take environmental issues more seriously in government. The reverse of their success has been a global failure to meet the 1.5°C target. This is served with a side of misinformation that has caused a backlash against the "net zero" agenda and more oil and gas being pumped than ever before.
That’s before we get to the increased insular thinking that neglects the plight of the downtrodden.
The Pacific island region gets the short end of the stick. Given that it is most vulnerable to climate change, it is baffling that the unmistakably leftist European Green Parties are not using their platform to speak up and make a case for the sinking island nations in the Pacific.
So what gives? Part of it is in the pursuit of power. Among the West’s youngest parties, the Greens are riding the global populist wave. More European voters are seriously considering them as a viable alternative to traditional left-wing parties.
However, political parties must moderate their views to enter the national government. To stay there, the Greens need a large slice of the electorate. To win them over, Greens must appeal to issues that hit closer to home. That’s something that Green parties have never been great at until recently.
As The Economist noted last summer, the Greens make student politics look rigorous. Greens have traditionally pushed policies well outside of the mainstream.
In Britain, for instance, they championed a two-child cap. Some members have called for a total ban on meat farming and making millionaires illegal.
Most European Greens are anti-NATO and want to reduce military spending. Several others even want to give up the remaining colonies and question whether we need intelligence services.
While the French Greens support New Caledonian and Tahitian independence, for instance, most French citizens don’t. Most are equally skeptical of Chinese influence in the Pacific and shudder at the thought of France withdrawing from NATO.
For now, at least, these issues are being shelved as European Greens are finally figuring out how to highlight existential threats in a non-threatening and non-alienating way. Debunking the stereotypical hippie image, their leaders are shifting toward the mainstream brand. And they are all exclusively talking about issues close to home.
Europe is getting hotter and summers are starting earlier. Storms are becoming more frequent and destructive. River and sea pollution is on the rise. E-vehicles, recycling, higher welfare farming, solar panels and heat pumps are all in vogue now, too, particularly among the middle classes (who actually vote).
Greens still consider climate change a national security threat, and rightly so. They oppose nuclear weapons, again, rightly so. They also favor increased welfare spending, which provides comfort in a cost-of-living crisis. All of which has niche enough appeal to just enough voters to increase their visibility.
The Pacific, however, is no longer on their agenda. It’s too far away. The existing political alliances are weak. It lacks migrants from the Western part of the world or any other obvious connection—besides being the climate destroyers and colonialists.
The Greens and their voters are only familiar with the Pacific region's idyllic landscapes and wildlife, oblivious to its people who live on the edge. As European countries look increasingly inward, it’s becoming harder for Westerners to empathize with the world’s paradise, even when the climate bites them back.
The Greens’ first taste of power has proven intoxicating. It's a reminder of why populism is always short-lived. While populists often point to deep-burning issues in urgent need of addressing, those carrying the banner inevitably succumb to the trappings of reality and power.
Dr. James C. Pearce previously worked at the University of Liverpool and the College of the Marshall Islands, and lived in Russia for almost a decade. He is the author of “The Use of History in Putin's Russia”, and has written on Russian memory politics, historical narratives, education policy and historical anniversaries. Send feedback to jcpearce.91@gmail.com.
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