The Nag

Hi there,
I’ve just interviewed Sian Berry, the Green Party’s mayoral candidate. It was really interesting to talk to her about the role of the Green Party and what it could achieve if 1) she was voted mayor in May this year or 2) in the same elections, people voted for more green party representatives in the London Assembly.
Having come from a position of total ignorance about the Green Party (I probably knew as much about them and their ideas as I do about the Monster Raving Loony Party) I became intrigued by their potential after speaking last year to Dieter Salomon, the green party mayor of Freiburg in Germany. He has achieved great things since winning a massive 65% of the vote in 2002. Freiburg is now undoubtedly one of the top eco-cities in Europe. Just a few examples of their commitment to tackling climate change: 500km of cycle paths; a special bus/train/tram pass costing €44 a month gets you unlimited access to all public transport within a 60km radius; a newly built solar village where 50 solar houses all produce more energy than they consume; 80% of Freiburg’s waste is recycled (compared to a European average of 19%); any new construction on municipal land must meet a low-energy standard, capping the energy requirement of the building at two thirds the national limit. The list goes on.
Obviously Freiburg is a lot smaller than London (220,000 people as oppose to 7 and a half million in London!) but can we learn lessons from their example of green party success? Personally I wouldn’t vote for the Green Party in a general election, but could local government be the perfect place for them to exert influence and steer Britain towards sustainability?
In the 1989 European elections, the Green party won 15% of the vote but because the EU was yet to introduce proportional representation (that happened ten years later), their success resulted in no actual MEP’s. Their popularity subsequently waned; Sian Berry believes this was partly due to the recession, which changed people’s priorities, partly due to internal problems within the party, and partly because people lost faith in a party that seemed to have no actual leverage.
At present they have 2 representatives within the London Assembly, giving them a casting vote over Ken Livingstone’s budgets and allowing them to push green issues high up on the agenda. Ideally they’re hoping to get 4 members on the GLA this time round, which would give them a lot more power.
I suppose I’m just interested in what other people think about the green party these days – could they be seen as a credible political movement or are they only attractive to the craziest of eco-warriors?