Political parties and the environment

Russell Dalton’s comments are on events in Western Europe, where the most successful green political parties are to be found.1 Political parties are central to the working of Western liberal democratic representative systems. The act of governing is driven by the actions or demands of the major political parties. Government in these systems is largely the result of party confrontation: ‘It is party confrontation – automatic, blind, occasionally senseless confrontation, regardless of the nature, purpose or importance of the issue’ (Jaensch 1983: 215).