On Europe: how are we doing?

Readers, it is almost the end of the calendar year, and several important general elections in Europe are coming up next year, in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and of course the United Kingdom. (There will also be early elections in Sweden next year following a government defeat on a budget vote).

The Green Party of England and Wales, I am pleased to say, is still experiencing a good influx of members; GPEW now has nearly 30,000 members and counting. I believe that Green Party membership across the UK (which also includes the Scottish Green Party and the Green Party of Northern Ireland) will overtake that of both UKIP and the Liberal Democrats by May 2015, when our next general election will take place. GPEW is also still performing well at 6% in national polls on average over the last four weeks.

Meanwhile, let us check how Green and left-wing parties are polling at the moment in the countries I mentioned above:

Denmark: Socialist Folkeparti (G/EFA): 7.6%; Red-Green Alliance (hard left): 9.4%.
(polling is from November 2014)

Estonia: Estonian Greens (G/EFA): 4.5%, no polling information available for Estonian United Left at this time.

Finland: Green League (G/EFA): 8.3%, Left Alliance (GUE/NGL): 8.9%.

Portugal: Democratic Unitarian Coalition (G/EFA and GUE/NGL): 7.6%, Left Bloc (GUE/NGL): 5.2%, LIVRE (G/EFA): 2.9%.

Spain: Podemos (GUE/NGL): 29.1%, United Left (GUE/NGL): 4.8%, Republican Left of Catalonia (GUE/NGL): 2.6% (No information available for Spanish Greens Federation in these polls for some reason).

Sweden: Swedish Green Party (G/EFA): 7.5%, Swedish Left Party (GUE/NGL): 6.4%.

Switzerland: Swiss Green Party: 7.3%, Green Liberals 7.3%, Alternative Left: 1.2% (polling is from October 2014).

More importantly, Podemos has now climbed to first place in Spanish general election polls, in the same way that SYRIZA has been in first place in Greek general election polls (there may be an early election as the current ND-PASOK coalition is only just about holding on with a majority of 4). Viva la revolucion, I say :)

Alan.

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