Greens secured 71 seats in the European Parliament—up from 52 seats five years ago.
Underscoring the growing demand for bold climate action that has found expression in global youth-led strikes, marches, and civil disobedience over the past year, Green parties across Europe had their strongest-ever EU parliamentary election performance after running on a platform of transformative environmental change.
“The Green Wave has swept across Europe. We want to thank everyone who has voted for change and climate action,” Ska Keller, a German MEP and one of the Greens’ leading candidates for European Commission president, said in astatementSunday following four days of continent-wide voting.
“This trust given to us by voters is both a task and a responsibility to put green polices into action,” said Keller.
AsTheGuardianreported, the “Greens’ surge was strongest in Germany, where Die Grünen finished second behind Angela Merkel’s center-right CDU with almost 21 percent of the vote, according to provisional estimates—nearly double their 2014 total.”
Greens also had strong showings in Finland, France, and Ireland on the back ofhigher-than-usual voter turnout.
