Language: English

Modern representative democracy is not conducive to handling environmental challenges. Ecology requires new political institutions capable of tackling long-term concerns.

The economic crisis and the democracy crisis share some of the same causes: redefining the ideal of democracy, the impotence of current regulatory methods in the face of collective decision-making, and a crisis within political programmes.

Old Europe is disaggregating. The new Europe, which has long been a reality in the mind of many European citizens, is waiting for its constitution, one that will effectively take us into the future.

What do the Greens think about the current fatigue with representative democracy?

The specificity of ‘democratic radicality’ is by no means a bulwark for the Greens against developments or rationales that run counter to this ‘democratic requirement.’

In recent years, the volume of articles and books dedicated to the democratic crisis has been constantly expanding. The same is true of the literature addressing the ecological crisis. Yet a simultaneous reflection both on the ecological and on the democratic crisis has not accompanied this proliferation.

What made these European elections of 2014 so notable? For the first time, the European parties nominated joint leading candidates. This led not only to a greater personalisation of the European electoral campaign but also gave the elections a real pan-European dimension. What does the outcome mean for the Greens, and what conclusions can be drawn?

The severe flooding which hit large areas of the Balkan region in spring 2014 highlighted serious flaws in the state response to such emergencies, as well as failures of environmental policy and planning. Fellow citizens and volunteers became a lifeline for those in need, as a result.

Voter abstention and the success of anti-Europe parties were two key trends of the 2014 European elections. Since the first direct elections for the European Parliament, a reciprocal relationship has emerged that affects the commitments of politicians, the media, and the voters. This prompts the question of to what extent the media have influenced the events of 2014.

In the recent European elections, Slovakia saw participation plummet to new lows. Yet the combination of this abstention with general satisfaction towards EU membership gives rise to a curious paradox, in which voter behaviour today continues to be affected by historical memory and many other complex factors.