Die Grünen

Die Grünen is a name given to the Green Party in Germany.  Their official name is Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.

The Green Party was founded in Germany in 1980, and merged with Bündnis 90 in 1993.  Between 1998 and 2005 they formed a coalition government with the SPD.

Many of their policies are connected with the environment, so that they often take on government departments associated with this area when they form local coalitions.

The following politicians belonged or belong to the party: Joschka Fischer, Jürgen Trittin and Claudia Roth.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

Download the MP3 file | Subscribe to the podcast

Diesel prices and the Green Party

Back in the 1990s I remember the Green Party in Germany promising to raise the price of petrol to 5DM per Litre (around 2,50EUR). This may have just been campaigning to make their point against fossil fuels, particularly at a time when they had not been confronted with the problem of actually running the Government.

I remember a comedian on the German version of “Have I Got News For You?” even accused them once of not keeping their campaign promises – because the price of petrol still hadn’t reached that point yet.

Ten years later and that promise may be about to come true. A petrol station in Devon recently charged almost 2GBP (about 2,44EUR) per litre for diesel! Even in Germany the price of diesel has now caught up with that of the normal 95-octane fuel.

Most petrol stations here are displaying only two prices: one price for 98-octane fuel, and one for everything else! It has now become much more expensive to drive anywhere on normal petrol or diesel than ever before. And yet I still don’t see many petrol stations here offering alternatives. I still don’t see better public transport, except for special events.

I’ve read recently about new high-speed train lines being considered in the UK, about new driver-less underground trains in Nuremberg and about towns in Germany introducing mandatory solar panels on building.

Is my part of Germany starting to fall behind?

Diesel prices and the Green Party

Back in the 1990s I remember the Green Party in Germany promising to raise the price of petrol to 5DM per Litre (around 2,50EUR). This may have just been campaigning to make their point against fossil fuels, particularly at a time when they had not been confronted with the problem of actually running the Government.

I remember a comedian on the German version of “Have I Got News For You?” even accused them once of not keeping their campaign promises – because the price of petrol still hadn’t reached that point yet.

Ten years later and that promise may be about to come true. A petrol station in Devon recently charged almost 2GBP (about 2,44EUR) per litre for diesel! Even in Germany the price of diesel has now caught up with that of the normal 95-octane fuel.

Most petrol stations here are displaying only two prices: one price for 98-octane fuel, and one for everything else! It has now become much more expensive to drive anywhere on normal petrol or diesel than ever before. And yet I still don’t see many petrol stations here offering alternatives. I still don’t see better public transport, except for special events.

I’ve read recently about new high-speed train lines being considered in the UK, about new driver-less underground trains in Nuremberg and about towns in Germany introducing mandatory solar panels on building.

Is my part of Germany starting to fall behind?

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