German Green Party

The German Green Party has gained support in another state election, this time in Berlin. From BBC News coverage:

The SPD – who have been in opposition nationally since 2009 – won around 29% of the vote, down from 30.8% in 2006. Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union gained just over 23%, up slightly from 21.3% in 2006, while the Greens won 18%, up from 13.1%. The Left party vote fell from 13.4% in 2006 to 11.5%. Meanwhile, the little-known Pirate Party, a libertarian party whose programme includes greater personal data protection and the legalising of cannabis, garnered more than 8% of the vote.

The Social Democrats already held control of the government of Berlin, but they are now expected to replace their current partners, the Left party, with the Greens.

Read the full article at BBC News.

In an article at Spiegel Online, the Greens in Saarland will play a pivotal role after recent “Super Sunday” elections.

The Left Party came in first, winning 21.3% of the vote. Their preferred coalition partner is the Social Democrats. Apparently these two parties do not have enough in the legislature to form a government without bringing in another smaller party.

The same seems to be true of the parties on the conservative side of the aisle. Even if they all come together to try to form a coalition, they will need more to succeed.

That “more” is the Green Party. The article, if I understand it correctly, says that whichever government is formed will owe it’s existence to the Greens joining the coalition.

Please read the article yourself, and if I have gotten it wrong, let me know. It does sound like an exciting turn of events in the Green’s favor.