Germany’s Green Party. Endangered species

A party that suddenly seems less invulnerable than before

MIGHT Germany's Greens need a spot of recycling? Newspaper readers may wonder. Whether lowbrow tabloid or highbrow weekly, much of the press now treats the Greens as self-righteous and incapable of accepting that well-intentioned policies can have ugly effects: eg, that opening up borders can be an invitation to people-trafficking. If Joschka Fischer, the party's posterboy and foreign minister, has to resign over a visa scandal provoked by this truth, the Greens could face a big electoral setback.

This is a reversal of fortunes for the world's strongest environmental party. A few weeks ago, as it marked its 25th anniversary, the Green Party's world seemed in good shape. A year of success had made it the biggest party in some German cities. Mr Fischer was showered with compliments over his response to the Asian tsunami: he led the taskforce that worked round the clock to organise help.

If the Greens have come down to earth, one reason is that the opposition has changed strategy. Having realised that its leaders and programme are not attractive enough, the conservatives have resorted to aggressive attacks against the government. The scandal over visas issued to people-traffickers in Ukraine, now the subject of a parliamentary inquiry, provides ammunition: it weakens Mr Fischer, and seems to show that the entire government is soft on immigration despite Germany's terrible unemployment (which hit a post-war record of 5.2m in February).

Perhaps more important, the media seem ready to change their tune after years of shamelessly hyping the Greens and helping Mr Fischer to reach almost godlike status. Some of the generation of journalists now reaching positions of influence see themselves as actors with a political agenda, rather than mere reporters. Der Spiegel, the leading newsweekly, seems especially intent on pushing Mr Fischer out of office, after being a firm supporter in recent years.

If the attacks have hit home, it is partly because the Greens have let them. While success was springing eternal, they became complacent. It took weeks for them to realise how damaging the visa scandal could be, because it seems to show them up as moralists disconnected from reality. The reaction also highlights a contradiction the party has yet to resolve: the leadership is now decidedly pragmatic, but most party members see themselves as the only defenders of truth and goodness.

Germany's Zeitgeist also seems to be shifting away from things the Greens hold dear. Multiculturalism is increasingly under question. The public mood favours tighter security, as the visa scandal has shown. Germany's continuing economic malaise also makes people think twice about the merits of government regulation. Pending anti-discrimination laws are now seen as more costly red tape rather than harbingers of greater equality.

The Greens will not disappear even if Mr Fischer goes. That might cost the party a third of its votes, but it still has plenty of political assets. Green politicians are very professional, and can come up with new ideas. Many of their voters will stick with them no matter what. The crisis could even strengthen the party if it draws the right conclusions: that success is not automatic, and that it needs soon to groom a successor to the struggling god at the top.

Article suggests that the Green Party in Germany is suddenly looking far more vulnerable.

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