Changing face of the Greens

Date: 08/02/1996

By Jean-Paul Marthoz

IN 1981, very few people outside Belgium paid attention when nine members of Agalev and Ecolo - the two Green parties - cycled to the parliament to take up their seats in the newly- elected assembly.

It was a watershed in European politics, however, since these colourful and unconventional politicians were among the first Green MPs to be elected in the EU.

In the last 14 years, the two parties, the Dutch-speaking Agalev and the francophone Ecolo, have regularly provided their share of deputies, senators, Euro MPs and local councillors. And, unlike their media-savvy and politically-ineffective French counterparts, they have succeeded in becoming part of the national political scene.

Even though still on the margins of the traditional political playing field, their leaders, such as Mieke Vogels, Henri Simons and Paul Lannoye, have become well-known figures and have taken part in all Belgian and European debates.

The striking thing about both parties is their commitment to environmental issues and their cooperation across the linguistic border. Although attentive to questions of devolution and cultural identity, both have maintained their constant opposition to nationalism and consistently warned the 'political class' of the risk of a slide towards communal hatred.

“Luc Van den Brande (Flanders' premier) scares me,” Vogels once confessed. “Nationalist rhetoric is dangerous, even when it is covered in a Social-Christian sauce. In the end, it catches up with extreme right-wing nationalism.”

The history of the two parties has not, however, always been free of controversy. Vociferous discussions have taken place on issues such as participation in coalitions with traditional parties, eco-taxes or the balance between environmental and socio-economic issues.

Some of their leaders have abandoned the party or switched allegiances but, contrary to most expectations, the Greens are still alive and kicking, commanding the support of some 10&percent; of the electorate.

In late January at Louvain-la-Neuve, on the campus of the Catholic University, Ecolo held an important congress designed to adapt the party to changing times in light of its declining electoral fortunes.

Indeed, when politics is dominated by bread and butter issues, the environment tends to take a back seat to more 'mundane' questions such as unemployment, poverty or social security.

On these issues, the Greens have usually made original contributions, but most politicians and voters have tended to regard their ideas as somewhat surrealistic.

Conventional wisdom is rather well established in Belgian politics, where the system of governmental coalition forces all three 'mainstream parties' (Catholic, Socialist and Liberal) to follow a middle path and avoid ideas that might scare away potential partners. In this culture, the Greens, quintessential mavericks, have mostly been seen as 'movers and shakers' rather than as future coalition partners.

The Greens have also been affected by the verzuiling (pillarisation) system which has traditionally dominated Belgian politics. Each political 'family' - Catholics, Socialists and Liberals - has its own party, union, youth organisations, mutual aid society, hospitals, cultural organisation and media.

This system of vote-getting and influence-peddling has been a major obstacle for outsiders such as the nationalist/regionalist parties or the Greens, who have been condemned to play the role of 'political conscience', leaving the business of government to more 'serious' parties.

Despite the odds stacked against them, Ecolo chose to break free from its insistence on purely Green issues last January and ventured into big-time politics.

Environmentalists such as Lannoye and the economics guru Philippe Defeyt were defeated by generalists such as Jacky Morael and Simons, who want to open the party to new social groups.

The winners believe that large segments of the electorate are disaffected and angry with the traditional parties which have been around for decades. They also fear that when these people cast a protest vote, they tend to go to the extreme right.

Priority has therefore been given to social issues, concrete action on the ground and strategic alliances with major social players, in particular trade unions.

Ecolo wants to leave the electoral ghetto to which it has been confined (teachers, social workers, students) and reach out to the world of industrial and service workers.

The stakes are high - not only for the Greens, but also for the traditional parties.

After long years of confusion and pensée unique, the electorate is looking for answers. All parties are aware of the need to redefine their principles and approaches in order to reconnect with voters.

This ambition lies behind the search for a new president for the Francophone Social-Christian Party and the ideological redefinition of the Flemish Christian People's Party. It is a central concern among the Greens.

All of this brainstorming promises to produce more lively debates and more daring thinking in a political world where, traditionally, major parties talk loudly when in opposition, but continue to prefer words to actions when in power.