Why Greece’s green parties are failing to bloom
As wildfires linked to climate crisis wreak havoc in the country, experts delve into the reasons why environmentally focused politicians remain unable to make gains
The lack of a political culture that values environmental issues, the presence of antagonistic political trends, and persistent internal skirmishes are the primary obstacles that prevent the green parties in Greece from establishing themselves as a meaningful political force, according to experts. This failure becomes even more glaring as environmentally focused politicians across Europe make gains, driven by the escalating impact of climate change and the increasing prominence of sustainability issues on the political and public agendas.
In May’s election in Greece, held under a system of simple proportional representation seen as advantageous for smaller parties, the Ecologist Greens-Green Unity alliance received only 0.6 percent of the total, or 35,201 votes. The Green Movement secured 0.25 percent of the vote, or 14,627 votes. The Greek Ecologists, a fringe party led by the seasoned election maverick Dimosthenis Vergis, failed to garner any votes. Furthermore, Green and Purple, a newly formed alliance of seven parties (including the pan-EU federalist party Volt, the Pirate Party of Greece, eco-feminists, animal rights advocates and other activists), was unable to participate in the polls as it did not receive clearance from the Supreme Court. Given that the threshold for entering Parliament is 3 percent, none of the green parties succeeded in electing an MP.
During the repeat election in June, which operated under a system of reinforced representation, the green parties experienced a decline in voter support. The Ecologist Greens-Green Unity only managed to secure 21,188 votes, reducing their share to 0.41 percent. Meanwhile, the Green and Purple alliance obtained 0.30 percent of the vote, equivalent to 15,725 votes. The Green Movement chose to withdraw, while Vergis’ party once again failed to collect a single vote. Conservative New Democracy, which had frequently faced criticism during its first term for compromising the country’s environmental protection legislation, was re-elected with a commanding 40.56 percent of the vote.
Political culture
As a non-industrialized country, Greece has managed to mostly steer clear of irreversible environmental damage that could directly impact health, such as industrial pollution or nuclear waste. As a result, the public has not been forced to develop an inbuilt resistance over such issues.
However, experts agree that the structure of the Greek political system and the country’s political culture have played a more critical role in obstructing environmental parties from establishing a distinct and electorally significant voter base.
“The truth is that Greek society has never demonstrated the same ecological sensitivity as societies in Central and mainly Northern Europe,” says Lefteris Ioannidis, the president of the Hellenic Green Cities Network who ran as a candidate with Green and Purple in June, pinpointing other long-standing political priorities and different needs.
“In Greece, we frequently confine the political landscape within the binary framework of right and left, which objectively hinders the emergence of a political space that could be defined beyond this dichotomy,” says Ioannidis, who in 2014 became the first Green mayor ever elected in Greece, representing the northern town of Kozani, a longtime center for lignite extraction.
Following the end of the 1967-74 military dictatorship, Greek politics has largely been dominated by a two-party system under socialist PASOK and conservative New Democracy.
Iosif Botetzagias, a professor of environmental politics and policy at the University of the Aegean, concurs that “this left very little room for any other party to gain a substantial share of the electoral pie.”
Additionally, Botetzagias says, Greek environmentalists have been unable to adopt or politicize two crucial themes that were instrumental in the success of eco-parties in Europe during the 1970s and 80s: the so-called libertarian issues, encompassing minority rights, civil/political liberties, and anti-militarism, and the matter of environmental protection. These themes had already been embraced by Greece’s New Left parties, particularly the Synaspismos Left Coalition, the forerunner to SYRIZA, leaving their green counterparts without anything new or distinct to contribute.
Simultaneously, the issue of environmental protection has been under the control of and synonymous with major nongovernmental environmental organizations operating in the country since the early 1990s. Organizations such as Greenpeace or WWF have been mostly technocratic and apolitical in their approach.
“As a result, environmental protection was perceived as an issue lying beyond parties and ideologies, to be solved through technical and technological interventions,” explains Botetzagias. “The fate of the environment was seen as being beyond political or party competition.”
Occasional spikes in support for the green parties have primarily come in the form of protest votes – a trend most evident at the peak of the financial crisis Greece went through roughly between 2009 and 2019. In their strongest showing, the May 2012 elections, the Ecologist Greens gathered 185,366 votes, which accounted for 2.93 percent of the total vote, falling just below the parliamentary threshold.
Botetzagias notes that such voting behavior “obviously lacks both continuity and stability over time.”
Economy
While protest voting triggered by austerity may have temporarily boosted electoral support for green parties, the financial crisis did not ultimately benefit the green agenda overall.
“Under the burden of economic hardship, citizens often seek ‘easy’ solutions without giving due consideration to the long-term consequences,” says Michael Bakas, a member of the Ecologist Greens and former North Aegean regional councilor.
For Ioannidis, the fluidity that arose in the social and economic environment during the bailout period not only impeded progress on environmental issues but also led the greens to adopt a political agenda that deviated from their core ecological principles. “This led to a substantial loss of electoral support,” he says.
The structure of the Greek political system and political culture have played a critical role in obstructing environmental parties from establishing a distinct voter base
During some of the most turbulent years of the debt crisis, the Ecologist Greens aligned with the SYRIZA ticket in both the 2015 elections, both of which were won by the leftist party. During the tenure of the leftist-led coalition with the nationalist populist Independent Greeks (ANEL) party, the greens were criticized for not stepping up against the government’s hydrocarbon exploration agreements in the Ionian Sea. Nevertheless, they cooperated again with SYRIZA in the 2019 polls, this time unsuccessfully.
Elias Papatheodorou, who ran as a candidate with Green and Purple in the latest vote, agrees that the decision to join forces with SYRIZA caused significant political damage for the greens.
“The greens relinquished their political autonomy and overly embraced a discourse of protest. But voters did not respond favorably. This has undoubtedly been the greens’ most significant failure,” says Papatheodorou, who has previously served as international secretary for the Ecologist Greens.
In the 2009 European Parliament elections, the Ecologist Greens secured 3.49 percent of the vote, allowing them to elect one MEP. By the time of the 2019 European polls, their share had plummeted to 0.87 percent.
The strain of disappointing electoral outcomes further fueled what Ioannidis identifies as “factionalism, personal conflicts devoid of political substance, and, ultimately, the discrediting of the greens.”
In December 2022, the Ecologist Greens initially agreed to join the Green and Purple alliance, but soon after, they withdrew due to internal conflicts over leadership.
Mainstream hijack
Adding insult to injury, the greens face the challenge that mainstream parties have over the years moved to adopt a pro-environmental discourse. “In the eyes of the voters,” says Botetzagias, “everyone seems to care about the environment.”
Most experts agree the shift is mostly pretextual. “Mainstream parties have indeed shown a clear political shift toward ecology, which of course validates the legitimacy of our proposals. However, they frequently compromise due to political or vested interests,” Ioannidis says, pointing out the case of hydrocarbon development, where “even today, most parties hesitate to firmly reject such practices.”
“Regrettably, mainstream parties fail to fully grasp that the ecological dimension should be ingrained in all policies at every level, rather than treated as a separate and isolated policy,” he says.
Papatheodorou concurs that non-green parties are doing a poor job of promoting genuine environmental policy.
“The most significant risk of the eco-parties’ absence from the Greek Parliament is greenwashing,” Papatheodorou says, slamming the “misguided” policy on climate change, renewable energy transition, and sustainable agriculture.
Environmental groups have strongly criticized the environmental policies of Greece’s center-right government, citing its failure to adequately address the severity of climate change and, in some cases, to uphold EU environmental law commitments. Greece ranks second in the total number of open infringement cases and holds first place in continuous violations of decisions by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU).
Studies show that the inclusion of green parties in Parliament is more likely to result in the implementation of environmentally friendly and socially beneficial policies.
While Greece’s green politicians find it hard to even win a seat in the House, green parties are coalition partners in six EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland and Luxembourg.
Renewal
While acknowledging the significant impact of the devastating wildfires on the islands of Rhodes and Corfu, as well as other parts of Greece, on voters, most experts interviewed for this article concur that Greece’s green parties need to prioritize the restoration of their political independence to gain traction.
“The green movement in Greece finds itself entangled in a ‘watermelon’ logic,” says Papatheodorou, signifying a situation where it appears green on the outside but holds red ideologies on the inside.
He argues that the green movement has achieved success where it has maintained its autonomy and convinced citizens, especially the youth, that it presents innovative solutions to pressing social issues such as unemployment, sustainable economy, transparency, social cohesion, and the well-being of many.
Such a transformation, Ioannidis acknowledges, “cannot happen overnight.” But initiating personnel renewal appears to be a promising starting point.
“It is imperative that new individuals with fresh ideas step forward to restore the credibility of the movement,” he says.
“I think it is essential for veteran figures within the green political movement, who have become closely associated with the failed management of past years, to relinquish the possessive mindset that often defines them.”
