Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 69

49 seats, making it the third largest party in parliament. In the 1998 elec-
tion, Alliance 90/Greens (as they styled themselves) won 47 seats with
6.7% of the vote. The Socialist Party out-polled the Christian Democrats
to become the largest, but still needed a few votes to make a majority,
so they formed a coalition with the Greens. As a reward, its leader,
Joschka Fischer, became vice chancellor and foreign minister in the new
government. The Greens were further rewarded with two additional
ministries—environment and health. Wags spoke of the Red-Green coali-
tion. Like a watermelon, it was green on the outside and red on the inside.
Being a member of the ruling majority was a new experience and pro-
duced strains. It became apparent that the civilian nuclear industry could
not be shut down because the electricity was needed. Two foreign issues
split the Greens. Germany was cooperating with NATO by sending troops
on a peacekeeping mission to Kosovo in the Balkans and later assisted the
United States in its invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11 attack
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
In the 2002 election, the Greens did even better, winning 8.6% to
get 55 seats. This saved the Red-Green coalition, since the Socialists
had slipped to 39%. The combination got a bare majority of 306 out of
603 seats in parliament. Again they got the foreign ministry and two other
ministries. Public opinion polls showed that Joschka Fischer, the Green
leader, was the most popular politician in the country. Campaigning in
a flashy bus with “Joschka” painted in big letters, he drew large crowds.
On the other hand, many fundis believed he had sold out. A further factor
in increasing the vote for the Greens was their embrace of nonenviron-
mental issues such as opposition to troops in Kosovo or Afghanistan.
Moreover, they favored feminism and rights for gays and lesbians, such as
the bill they had initiated for a Registered Partnerships Law. From their
own perspectives, the Greens believed they were the brains behind the
governing coalition with the Socialists, contributing most of the ideas that
appealed to the voters.
The 2005 election ended the Greens' place in a governing coalition. The
Socialists (their partners for many years) received only 36% of the seats,
yet their opponents, the Christian Democrats did only slightly better
with 37%. Neither of the two major parties could find enough additional
votes to form a majority coalition. After weeks of negotiation, the two
big parties formed a Grand Coalition with the Cabinet divided evenly.
The Socialists got the Environment Ministry. The 2009 election gave the
Christian Democrats a majority in coalition with the Free Democrats