Green Politics ‘Viable Path To Power’

11 December 2007
An article in Newsweek (4 December) says Kevin Rudd’s election [win] ratifies a shift to a new kind of climate-change-driven green politics that has little to do with the tree-hugging environmentalism of old.
“While he favours cutting emissions and switching to renewable energy, Rudd has also promised to veto restrictions on logging in Australia’s remaining old-growth forests, out of fear of endangering jobs,” says the report. “This kind of balance provides an attractive model. In Canada last week, opposition leader Jack Layton of the New Democrats announced that he’ll campaign on a platform modelled on Rudd’s.
”Ironically, the biggest losers are the real green parties, who are seeing their thunder stolen by mainstream politicians. In Australia, the Greens won no lower house seats. Germany’s Greens have been kicked out of the government, and with the two main parties now competing over who is greenest, the Greens have turned to defending the welfare state instead.
“Of course, whether the new policies are well thought out or just geared to appeal to voters and interest groups (think America’s corn ethanol producers) is an entirely different question. What has become clear is that going green is now a viable path to real power.”

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