To reverse the ‘greenlash’, Europe’s Green parties should embrace Polanski’s boldness | Tarik Abou-Chadi

Be more strident and ambitious, take on economic inequality, and progressive voters will reward you as they have the UK’s Greens

• Tarik Abou-Chadi is a professor of European politics at the University of Oxford

European Green parties have been through a phase of stagnation and crisis in recent years. Long gone seem the days of the “green wave” across Europe. Back in 2019, Green parties secured their best-ever result in the European parliament elections, with 74 seats. In the same year, Green parties also scored record results in Switzerland, Belgium and Austria. Shortly after, they were part of governing coalitions in Finland, Germany, Ireland and Austria.

But more recently, there has been much discussion of a “greenlash”: a backlash against climate policies and other green projects throughout Europe. Across the continent, Green parties dropped out of nearly all government coalitions, and these parties’ recent election results have often failed to meet expectations. With apparently declining enthusiasm for the climate movement, and the decreasing salience of climate breakdown at the ballot box, Green parties are debating how to turn their fortunes around.

Tarik Abou-Chadi is a professor of European politics at the University of Oxford