Society: Environment: Running out of track: When Joschka Fischer was appointed Germany's foreign minister, it seemed the Greens had made it as a major political force. But their role in the coalition government may be leading to electoral downfall

• Published in: The Guardian (London)
• Main Author: Kate Connolly, Additional reporting by Laurie MacGregor
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: London (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 04.09.2002
• Subjects: Environmentalists; Political power; Germany
• ISSN: 0261-3077

After four years in power, as junior coalition partner to the social democrats (SPD), another election is looming for Germany's Green party. With their poll ratings oscillating between 5% and 7% - a far cry from the 12% support they enjoyed at their height - Germans are starting to contemplate life without them in government, and analysts to consider just what they have achieved for Germany and more broadly, for Europe's ecological movement. In their own election manifesto, the Greens - who control the three portfolios of environment, agriculture and consumer affairs as well as foreign affairs - are keen to draw attention to their successes: how they secured an agreement between government and the energy industry that will mean the phasing out of nuclear power over the next two decades; their promotion of alternative energy, which has led to Germany becoming the world's foremost user of wind power; their soon-to-be-unveiled logo showing customers that certain organic products meet EU standards, and their programme to get 20% of German farmers to go organic by 2010. The party has faced something of an identity crisis since managing to push through parliament one of the reasons for its foundation in the late 1970s - the commitment to shut down nuclear reactors. Its former leader and current foreign minister, [Joschka Fischer], warned his colleagues two years ago that the party would face a quandary and needed to find new campaign topics. "The Greens must not only find themselves, but also renew themselves by finding new issues," he said. "On this process depends the future of the party."