Red-green alliance
In politics, a red-green alliance is an alliance of "red" social-democratic or democratic socialist parties with "green" environmentalist parties. The alliance is often based on common left political views, especially a shared distrust of corporate or capitalist institutions. While the "red" parties tend to focus on the adverse effects of capitalism on the working class, the "green" parties tend to focus on the ecological consequences of unrestrained capitalism.
The term was coined by Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt in a debate against the opposition leader Ingvar Carlsson 1994.[1]
There have been two distinct types of red-green alliances. The first type is formed by centre-left parties for the short-term goal of creating a coalition government. The second type is a long-term organisational alliance of minor far-left parties for the purpose of challenging capitalism.
Red-green coalition governments
There have been a number of red-green governments in Europe since the 1990s.
Radical red-green alliances
Far-left political parties or joint electoral lists have been formed over the years, most often between socialists and left-oriented greens. Example include:
- GreenLeft of the Netherlands: a political party that began 1989 as an electoral alliance comprising the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party and the Christian left parties Evangelical People's Party and Political Party of Radicals. The alliance had been known as Rainbow for the 1989 European elections.
- Red-Green Alliance of Denmark: a political alliance, later a political party formed in 1989 by the Left Socialists (VS), Communist Party of Denmark (DKP) and Socialist Workers Party (SAP).
- The European political alliance Nordic Green Left Alliance, formed by the Left Alliance (Finland), the Left-Green Movement (Iceland), the Left Party (Sweden), the Socialist Left Party (Norway) and the Socialist People's Party (Denmark). The MEPs of the NGLA sit in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) grouping in the European Parliament, although the Socialist People's Party MEPs sit in The Greens–EFA group.
- The Italian The Left - The Rainbow: a short-lived political alliance, formed in December 2007 and dissolved in May 2008, comprising the Federation of the Greens, the Communist Refoundation Party, Party of Italian Communists and the Democratic Left.
- Left Ecology Freedom: initially a successor of sorts in Italy to The Left - The Rainbow, also comprising the Federation and the Greens and Democratic Left, along with former-communist Movement for the Left and Unite the Left, and the Italian Socialist Party, a centrist social-democratic party. However, by November 2009, both the Greens and Socialists had abandoned the alliance. Left Ecology Freedom became a formal party in October 2010.[2]
Red-green alliances with centre-left parties
There are also red/green political alliances and/or electoral agreements between social-democratic or liberal parties with green parties
- In Canada, the term "Red-Green Alliance" has been used to describe the limited co-operation between the centrist Liberal Party of Canada which uses red as its colour, and the Green Party of Canada,[3] which is centre-left but not seen as being as radical as many of its overseas sister parties.
- The Red-Greens (Swedish: De rödgröna[4]) was a red-green political alliance in Sweden, established on 7 December 2008.[5] It consisted of the Social Democrats, Left Party and Greens in the Riksdag, sitting in opposition to the centre-right Alliance for Sweden coalition government. The Red-Greens aimed to achieve a majority at the 2010 Swedish general election held on 19 September 2010 and form its own coalition government. However, the Red-Greens failed to unseat the Alliance government, and the pact was dissolved on 26 October 2010.[6]
- A red-green alliance of sorts occurred during the campaign leading up to the London mayoral election, 2008. Incumbent mayor Ken Livingstone, candidate for the Labour Party, formed an electoral pact with the Green Party mayoral candidate Siân Berry via the supplementary voting system, in which Labour voters were encouraged to place the Green candidate as their second preference, and vice versa.[7]
- The phrase 'red-green alliance' has also been used to describe the One Wales coalition in the Welsh Assembly following the 2007 elections between the Welsh Labour Party and Plaid Cymru. However this is not a socialist-environmentalist alliance like the others listed in this article, and is named simply for the colours of the participating parties.
- In Italy, The Olive Tree and The Union coalitions comprised the Federation of the Greens along with a heterogenous mix of social-democratic, socialist, centrist and other parties in a broad centre-left alliance.
See also
References