Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 67

representation for the Greens was that they could get the 5% by combining
small numbers of votes from many different places.
he Green Party had its first success at the local and state (Land) levels.
In 1977 Greens ran in local elections in Schleswig-Holstein and Lower
Saxony, both regions affected by nuclear construction. The next year they
ran at the state level in Lower Saxony, Hamburg, and Hesse. At first, they
won only a few local elections. In 1979, they exceeded the all-important
5% level in Bremen, which entitled them to seats in the state (Land)
parliament. The Greens first put forth a list at the federal election in 1980.
Disappointingly, they won only 1.5%.
The federal election of January 1983 was a breakthrough for the Greens,
who won 5.6% of the votes, thus entitling them to 27 seats in the national
parliament. The nuclear power issue had been crucial in attracting support
to add to their other environmental planks in their platform. They also
opposed deployment of US intermediate range nuclear missiles. When
the Greens arrived in Parliament, they did not fit the conventional model
of politicians. They said they did not want to be just a “stinking normal
party,” and claimed they were a movement, not a party. On the floor of
Parliament they wore jeans and sweaters, carried flowers and banners, and
flouted standard speech. In their early years, the Greens refused to form
alliances with other parties.
The most celebrated member elected that year was Petra Kelly. She was
born in Guenzburg, but moved to the United States at 12 years of age
when her divorced mother married an American army officer, and Petra
took his name. Kelly attended university in Washington, DC, where she
participated in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements. She
was a lifelong admirer of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi.
In 1970 Kelly returned to Europe to begin her studies for a master's degree
at the Europa-Institut of the University of Amsterdam. She took a job
at the European Community headquarters in Brussels. At this time she
became active in the environmental, anti-nuclear, and peace movements.
Kelly was elected leader of the Greens in parliament. She explained the
reason for seeking political office:
At the moment, the party system is still the main mechanism for
selecting and deciding which issues figure on the political agenda.
Consequently, it is imperative, I believe, for many people in the
ecology and peace movements to push themselves to the forefront of
the party political stage. 21