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An alliance between conservatives and green parties is already a reality in local and regional constituencies but not yet at national level in Europe. This could change soon. Negotiations are most promising in Austria where the ÖVP is concentrating its efforts on finding a basis for a coalition with the greens. Greens could also come to power in Belgium, currently seen as the alternative in the complicated regional poker to get a federal government going without the far-right N-VA, or if those negotiations fail after new elections. 

The Greens will come to the negotiation table with a strong bargaining position. Greens are the vote winners these days and without them it may be difficult for governments to achieve the emission targets under the Paris agreement. 

But a coalition agreement also brings to light the difficulties in finding a new balance between green policies and industrial interests. Industry, infrastructure and production location are one of the central concerns of conservative parties - and some of their major donors come from industry. The Greens want a reorientation towards green priorities but are equally not interested in relocating operations or expanding abroad. 

How will politics combine environmental and location interests? The Austrian greens are for stricter rules in noise and climate protection or land use. The ÖVP pursued the opposite direction in the past, writes Der Standard. There has been some deterioration during the last legislative period according to environmental impact assessment studies. Worse is the law that allows a fast track approval of vast industrial projects. The greens want to revoke this law and got backing from Brussels. Can the ÖVP sell this to its constituencies? Some observers consider the obstacles too big for a coalition between the two parties to fly. But regions like Vorarlberg have demonstrated that these differences can also be overcome in a dialogue with industry, science and society. 

"I confess to feeling tired this November 2019... The escapism into our past, Germany’s unwillingness to take the common European destiny into our own hands – it is all wearing me down. The country’s missing sense of purpose diminishes the power potential that it has. Berlin has turned punching below one’s weight into an art form. This pleases those outside the country who do not wish to see Germany shaping Europe, and it pleases those inside the country who would rather not make the effort. At a juncture in world politics that may yet turn out to be a tipping point for European integration, this overweight, unenergetic Germany is contemplating its historical navel and has become a burden to Europe – but one Europeans are unable to move forward without."