A party is threatened with a spiral of losses if it does not start investing much more in something other than the climate crisis and equality, writes Teemu Luukka, HS’s political journalist.
The Greens the regional election result was poor. Its share of the vote was 7.4 per cent, which is a weaker result than the Left Alliance.
The party also performed poorly in the municipal elections last summer. At that time, part of the party was able to explain the drop in support as a seasonal variation due to heavy government cooperation.
Explanations no longer help. The party is in a losing spiral, say several Green insiders interviewed for this writing.
None of the interviewees blame the chairman for the result Maria Ohisalon acting as a deputy Iiris Suomelaabut the causes of the green problems are deeper.
In the regional elections, the decision-makers responsible for organizing social and health care were elected, so the electoral debate revolved around sote issues.
The Greens have simply not talked and profiled enough about war issues in the past or almost ever. Not the Greens in two weeks will turn into a sote party, is the message of the Active.
Iiris Suomela, Deputy Chairman of the Greens, took part in the regional election exam for the chairmen of the parliamentary parties of Helsingin Sanomat on 19 January.
Green has not succeeded in standing out at all during the term of government on issues other than climate and equality.
The Greens is the party that fights with the center. This is an image that does not want to draw voters.
In an interview with HS on Monday, Suomela said that the Greens must simply be able to stand out through several clear themes and upheavals. All those interviewed agree on this – but not at the expense of climate and equality issues.
Interviewees the speeches begin to stand out as one begins to wonder why the party’s image is so one-sided.
Some of the reasons can be found in history.
The current MEP Ville Niinistö During the presidency (2011-2017), support for the Greens increased as the party managed to profile itself as the country’s leading education and research party in the opposition. It also wanted to reform the economy.
The Greens were growing into a strong universal party emphasizing climate and equality issues. Support for the Greens swept in the polls as high as 17 percent in the fall of 2017.
The next chairman was the general party from Jyväskylä May Aalto, but he resigned. The party plunged into crisis.
The party’s program work was interrupted and it left without preparing for government negotiations. This is still reflected in the work of the board.
Maria Ohisalo rose to the party’s leadership in 2019 only after that time Antti Rinteen (sd) the government had already begun its work.
The party can be said to have had a badly bright future.
Is even contradictory that the Greens are not a more popular party. It would have all the ingredients for success, as climate and equality are the biggest topics of discussion in recent years.
The party has been pretty much outside the steep left-right line, creating opportunities to attract a wide range of contemporary voters.
Now, many see the Greens as a left-wing party, even though the party is trying to argue against it.
Green have often turned out to be effortless when the government has talked about employment or even a sustainability deficit. Its energy has gone to climate issues and equality, as well as a fight with the city center.
Time and time again, the Greens have managed to look like the loser of choice, even though many and many of the climate decisions have been made thanks to the Greens.
In addition to Ohisalo and Suomela, the party’s key players now include the Minister of the Environment Emma Kari. He once lost the presidential race to Touko Aalto.
“The reason at that time was that Kari was so inside the bubble of Kallio in Helsinki,” says one long-lined green.
The problem with the “rock bubble” is considered to be that the bubble rejects those who do not think or speak in the same way as the bubbles.
The party now appears to be in the hands of the capital.
Emma Kari is on the board of Sanna Marin (sd), Minister of the Environment and Climate.
Part among those interviewed, it is sometimes difficult to discuss in the party the lack of male voters in such orthodox terms that some women are not offended or find the wrong terms in their speech.
“There’s a lot of orthodoxy in the air. It is a different matter to lecture voters about intersectionality than to say that everyone must have equal rights, ”says the active.
Some of the interviewees, on the other hand, do not see such a problem. They say you can talk in the party, but it’s a different matter whether you want or are able to make new changes.
Two the interviewee says the Greens are looking for supporters too much where it is easiest on the party’s current line.
This means that the forces will be directed at left-wing-minded young people and women, for whom the climate crisis and equality are by far the most important in politics.
The party conducted a survey before the 2019 parliamentary elections. According to it, green voters want a counterbalance Juha Sipilän (central) government austerity policy.
In practice, the study recommended left-wing women as candidates for the party. The problem is that they are not the darkest in the clouds, and they are also interested in the two left-wing parties.
The final result is shown in the parliamentary group and in the results of the regional elections. The Group of the Greens / European Free Alliance has 20 members, three of whom are men. About 85 percent of the Greens elected in the regional elections have reported being women.
The problem is not the number of women, but the fact that the party no longer attracts men or the elderly. The party also does not want to interest voters, who believe that politicians should take care of everyday affairs on a large scale.
Green is also a kind of victim of the climate crisis.
The climate crisis is the greatest threat to humanity, and the Greens have understandably and appreciatively invested the most of their resources in it. At the same time, there have not been enough forces for other activities, and partly because of this, the party is shrinking and its power to fight the climate crisis is weakening.
Two green activists say the party may be, or has already become, in a self-sustaining spiral.
The green interviewed by HS talks about the so-called Instagram spiral. In the spiral, for example, right-wing equality speeches bring a lot of likes in a politician’s own bubble, but boring employment speeches arouse at most negative reactions, so interest in them wears off.
There may therefore be a big threshold for the Greens to leave to attract voters interested in the economy or the lack of sustainability, as these issues could expel current nuclear voters.
Parties in crisis often find it difficult to regenerate because they cling to the remaining voters like a lifeline. Therefore, they do not learn to swim in a new way.
Correction 26.1. at 12: Changed from one quote the word intersexuality to intersectionality.
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