Towards a New Green Leadership on Economic and Social Issues

The author analyzes the electoral performance of European Green parties following the 2009 financial crisis, noting a trend of decline in several countries. To counter this, the text proposes five strategic challenges: focusing on societal needs over internal struggles, embracing diversity in leadership and membership, transitioning from 'whistleblowers' to 'solution providers', establishing credibility on economic issues by promoting alternative green economic concepts, and asserting a strong commitment to social justice and equity. The author advocates for a 'Green New Deal' as a practical first step toward a radical paradigm shift in the development model, emphasizing that proposed efforts must be effective, fair, and legitimate to restore public trust.

• European Green parties experienced a significant electoral success in June 2009, winning 46 seats in the European elections, which was 11 more than the previous term. This success was most prominent in France through the 'Europe-Ecologie' movement and supported by the 'Global Green New Deal' concept in western and northern Europe.
• Following the 2009 peak, Green parties faced mixed and often declining electoral results. While Germany saw success in regional parliaments and Baden-Württemberg, and the UK Greens won their first national Parliament seat in 2010, downward trends were noted in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Ireland. In France, Eva Joly received only 2.7% of the vote in the presidential election.
• Green parties have failed to capture the political space in countries like Spain, Greece, and Italy where traditional right-wing and left-wing parties have lost credibility, leaving that space to be filled by populist extreme-left or extreme-right parties.
• To become a primary political force, Green parties must shift from being 'problem-oriented movements' to 'providers of solutions', moving beyond criticism to offer practical, credible steps for societal transformation.
• The Greens are perceived as irrelevant on economic issues, which is critical given that 80% of citizens base electoral choices on economics. The author argues for the promotion of alternative green economic concepts to replace the 'neo-classical model' which ignores ecological limits.
• Green parties must bridge the gap in their perceived credibility regarding social justice and equity, moving beyond the image of providing solutions tailored for the middle class to address exploding inequalities and the physical limits of the planet.
• The 'Green New Deal' should not be viewed merely as a program to green infrastructure, but as the initial steps toward a thorough transformation of the development model. For such efforts to be accepted, they must be effective, fair (with the wealthiest carrying the largest burden), and legitimate.

APA

Lamberts, P. (2012). Towards a New Green Leadership on Economic and Social Issues. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/towards-a-new-green-leadership-on-economic-and-social-issues/

Chicago

Lamberts, Philippe. Towards a New Green Leadership on Economic and Social Issues. Green European Journal, 2012. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/towards-a-new-green-leadership-on-economic-and-social-issues/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Lamberts |first1=Philippe |title=Towards a New Green Leadership on Economic and Social Issues |publisher=Green European Journal |date=16 June 2012 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/towards-a-new-green-leadership-on-economic-and-social-issues/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{lamberts2012towards, author = {Lamberts, Philippe}, title = {{Towards a New Green Leadership on Economic and Social Issues}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2012}, month = jun, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/towards-a-new-green-leadership-on-economic-and-social-issues/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }