@fbaezer,
Quote:Good for you, away from the Green Freaks!
That's very strong statement, fbaezer.
Could you expand on it, please? I'm genuinely interested as to why you hold that view.
Why do you regard them as "freaks"?
Comparing notes on what the greens stand for in different countries: in Australia the Greens have emerged as a viable 3rd party .. an alternative for some to the big two: the Liberal National Party (LNP) & the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Though considerably smaller than the established big 2, they hold the balance of power in the senate (in the federal parliament).
As both the ALP & LNP have moved decisively to the right in recent years, many former "left" members of the ALP have transferred their allegiance to the Greens. In fact, many of the Greens policies could be said the be those which Labor traditionally used to stand for.
Anyway, to try & gain more insight into the policies of EU Greens I did a little Googling:
Quote:The European Greens have always been committed to basic tenets of Green politics, such as environmental responsibility, individual freedom, inclusive democracy, diversity, social justice, gender equality, global sustainable development and non-violence.[7]
However, its relationship to the European Union and its institutions has changed dramatically and is still the subject of a lively debate. In the 1970s and 1980s the European Greens were generally skeptical of European political and economic integration, which was seen as contrary to environmental and social interests. ..... etc>
European Green Party:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Green_Party
No doubt I know considerably less about the EU Greens than say, Walter & others who live in Europe, but I'm really curious, why are you so dismissive of them? I'd be interested (especially on the left/right spectrum), about where they stand in Europe, compared to the other parties.
In my own country (imo) they've provided a welcome alternative the conservatism of the two main political parties. I think the
political compass analysis is pretty accurate. If anything, both the LNP & the LNP have moved further right since .... :
Quote:
Australian Election 2010:
Conservative parties in virtually all western democracies have shifted to the right economically, and the
Australian Liberal Party is no exception. However, in most countries a new generation of conservative leaders display eagerness to adopt more socially liberal policies in tandem with full-throttle free market (ie right wing) economics. In the case of Tony Abbott's Liberals, however, the party has not only moved right of the earlier Turnbull leadership years, but it has also shifted to a more authoritarian position on the social scale. This is a move that will no doubt appeal to the otherwise mostly homeless former supporters of One Nation.
Labor reflects this drift, now occupying a space to the right of the 1980s Liberals. The debate between the two main parties, however heated, is within narrowing parameters. The two parties are now closer together than at any other time. The clash of economic vision of earlier campaigns is absent. It's no longer about whether the prevailing neoliberal orthodoxy is actually desirable, but merely a question of which party can manage it best.
By contrast,
the Greens, once pretty much a single issue party, have emerged with a comprehensive social democratic manifesto, more in tune with an earlier Labor Party, and significantly more socially liberal than either of the others. ...<cont>
Australian Election 2010:
http://www.politicalcompass.org/aus2010
.
[The commanding officer of a large naval base once called me a "town guerilla" ... only because I was wearing red sox and didn't have my rank insignia fixed ...]
