1) the green movement is not new, but in twenty-some years and dozens of opportunities i have to say i've never seen a green candidate control a debate, until now. but, it's a bit of a pyrrhic victory because...
2) ....if you look up on the stage, you have four factions of what should be a liberal party. the socialist candidate hardly sounds like a socialist, but would make a good left liberal. likewise, the kind of conservatism juncker is promoting really sounds like the right-wing end of the liberal spectrum. that leaves the self-identifying liberal in the centre, which is about right, and the greens as a special interest party. but, if these different strains of liberalism were to put aside their petty squabbling and integrate into a single party, it would be the greens that would be offering the most compelling and thought out vision moving forward. something that really stood out was the green candidate's understanding that the economy is not driven by monetary policy or tax rates but by aggregate demand. she's the only of the four that seemed to understand this.
3) worse, this is clearly political theatre. the body they're being elected to is almost powerless. so, what is this talk of forming a grand coalition to stop the anti-immigration parties from taking over the powerless parliament? it sounds like an excuse to ignore what little democracy exists in this process. are they seriously trying to paint a wide far-right brush over those that oppose the euro? because it turns history upside down. when will the european left stand up and declare that europe will no longer be crucified on a cross of gold?
4) as creepy as these anti-immigration groups are, it's becoming clearer and clearer that they're boogeymen that have been created by the banks to frighten the population into the status quo. and, should they not like the status quo, the alternative is crippling austerity. i've seen this movie already.