German Greens are on the rise. But the nation is divided | Anna Lehmann

The party has to address the concerns of groups beyond its urban base if it is to ultimately succeedThe Greens in Germany could hardly believe it. Leading party members were bouncing up and down when the public broadcasters sent the first, still uncertain results on the evening of the European Union elections. The green column rose to 20% and above, close to the black column of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, which ended up with 22.6%. Party manager Michael Kellner was beaming as the numbers came in.Over the course of the evening it became clear that the Green party had nearly doubled its seats in the European parliament and had overtaken the Social Democrats, the former "people's party". A historic victory for us, a historic disaster for them. Continue reading...