openDemocracy: Who’s afraid of Greta Thunberg?

The climate activist does not relate well to the irony of American television programs. When asked for her impression of New York when she arrived on the Malizia yacht, she replied that it smelled bad. Her lack of understanding of irony and her seriousness are probably related to her Asperger’s syndrome (a condition she speaks openly about) and dose of Nordic frankness. All of these qualities have influenced the new environmental movement. It is a group that speaks very seriously and uses scientific research to support their arguments. It is, in fact, the antithesis of the ironic language used by generation X or millennials. [...]

The activist triggered not only a political movement, but also fury from powerful media outlets. The media and commentators have become obsessed with her. According to some observers, the adoration towards Greta Thunberg is similar to a religious awakening. But this is not her problem. It is, on the contrary, a problem of the people and the media that react to her actions and her words. Within the political spectrum, environmentalism is found mostly on the left and in the academic world. The right and many liberals deny Greta Thunberg and her colleagues the right to formulate their own political ideas and goals, instead treating them as immature and spoilt. The Argentine journalist Sandra Russo calls this the first case of “global bullying”, an idea which she discussed long before September 23rd when Donald Trump, the president of the United States, sent out a tweet which made fun of the 16 year old.[...]

Everything seems to suggest that the more popular and disruptive the climate movement become, the more virulent the rejection from those who consider climate change as a conspiracy and the protection of the climate as pure nonsense becomes. The severity of reactions to a 16 year old teenager should make us reflect. Some psychologists try to explain it by saying the ‘old’ white men won’t change their attitudes towards the environment, so instead attack Greta for her illness, for her age or because of the apparent manipulation of her activism. But behind these criticisms there is much more than the intransigence of a whole male generation. The attacks may be a sign that she, alongside the youth involved in the movement, have managed to hit a sensitive nerve. Is Greta Thunberg questioning the system?

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TLDR News: What EU Elections Tell Us About How Europe Feels - Brexit Explained

Last week people across the EU went to the polls to vote for their new representatives in the European Election. This is an important vote and gives us a reading on the feelings of people across, and how they feel about politics and the EU. In this video, we analyse the results, explain the groupings who won and lost and discuss what the results mean for the EU going forward.

The Atlantic: What to Make of the European Elections

This narrative points to some important facts. Far-right populists had a disappointing night in a number of big countries, including Germany and Spain. Their advance slowed or went into reverse in a few smaller countries where they once looked as though they could pose a real threat, including Denmark and the Netherlands. And though their overall ranks have swelled, they are in no position to take down the European Union anytime soon. [...]

The results in Italy were especially striking. By engaging in ever more extreme demagoguery against immigrants, Matteo Salvini has transformed the Northern League, a small separatist party fighting for northern independence, into the dominant force in national politics. When he entered government last year, his party was the junior coalition partner to the Five Stars, a populist movement with roots in the political left. Now he has eclipsed his rivals, winning six times as many votes as he did five years ago, and twice as many as he did last year. In the process, he has cemented his position as the likely next prime minister—and radically transformed Italy’s political geography. [...]

It’s tempting to imagine that some of the progressive parties that are now in the ascendant across Europe might be able to stem the right-wing tide. As they have shed the radicalism of their founding period, the Greens have, for example, become ever more popular in Germany. Five years ago, they took 11 percent of the vote, finishing third. This time around, they doubled their share of the vote, comfortably taking second place. For the first time in history, they have beaten Germany’s Social Democrats in a nationwide election. And Germany’s Greens are part of a wider trend: Their sister parties also posted significant gains in France, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, liberal parties, which tend to pursue more pro-market policies but have similar views on many social issues, performed strongly in Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, and parts of Scandinavia. [...]

Traditional parties have disappointed too many people, too many times. The Greens and the liberals speak a different language, directed at a different audience. For now, only Salvini directly addresses the disenchanted voters of the Monte Amiata. Unless that changes, he may be able to count on their support for many years to come.

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Independent: Forget the Brexit Party surge in the UK, the rest of Europe has delivered a far more important message

First, we have seen the rise of traditionally “small” pro-European parties such as the Greens and the Lib Dems. This shows that centrism, exemplified by the coalition that the Socialist Democrats and the European People’s Party’s have formed in passing legislation in the European Parliament over the past decade, is outdated. Social and Christian Democrats’ influence is eroding, with some geographical variations, throughout Europe. [...]

Second, while the populists did well, this is not the surge announced by pollsters. The Brexit Party claimed victory in the UK, yet their MEPs will lose their jobs once the UK leaves the EU. The big gains were in France, with the National Rally racing ahead of Macron’s party, and in Italy, where the Lega Nord won more than 33 per cent of the votes, and in Hungary, where Orban won an overwhelming majority. Yet overall these parties will have difficulty forming a coherent group, especially once the UK leaves the EU. [...]

The victory of the Greens, particularly striking in Germany where they are the main winners of the election, is the most noticeable feature. The Greens have been a strong party at European level, which has transcended national factionalism in the European Parliament for many years. But their victory goes beyond their party. Green issues have been at the top of the priorities list of most progressive parties in Europe. The “green contagion” is certainly also due to a high mobilisation of young voters in several European countries.

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Deutsche Welle: Analysis: Key takeaways from the EU election results

The European parliamentary elections have seen their biggest turnout in 20 years. Participation in the EU elections was up by neary 10 points compared with five years ago. Europe's traditionally large centrist parties have suffered significant losses, as Greens, liberals and nationalists gained ground in Brussels. But voters delivered a complicated message: it’s a patchwork result from a patchwork union.

Politico: Green wave set to sag ahead of 2019 election

At present, the Greens and their EFA partners (parties pushing for either full political independence or greater sovereignty) make up the fifth biggest group in the Parliament, with 52 lawmakers. Expectations aren’t exactly high of improving on that, especially with six British Green MEPs on their way out the door. [...]

In the European Parliament, the Greens have often collaborated with other left-wing forces, including the Socialists or the far-left GUE-NGL group, to pass legislation. But Green leaders say they will not join any group with the Socialists or Liberals, even in the face of a populist surge across the Continent. [...]

Green parties have done well in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands but they are almost nowhere to be seen in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Eastern Europe. In Germany, their approach to issues like migration has won praise from conservative parts of society, while in other places they are affiliated with traditionally left-wing parties. [...]

The big unknown is France, where Europe Ecologie is still relatively low in the polls. A survey conducted in September by IFOP put the party at just 7.5 percent in the European election — lower than the 9 percent they won in 2014 and much lower than the 16.28 percent their list won in the 2009 European election.

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