The Green Party clearly assume they have an image problem. “Think you know us? Think again” is the slogan with which they are campaigning for the European parliamentary elections on June 4th. Can the Green Party mould their single issue voice into a broad-based political platform that appeals to mainstream voters? Their leader, Dr Caroline Lucas, thinks they can, and no one is better placed than her to make it happen.

I met Dr Lucas after the launch of their South-East campaign for the upcoming poll. The event had all the ceremony and media coverage one would expect, but was attended by barely a dozen people who weren’t press or party officials. She seemed undaunted; perhaps because she recognised that for many there in person her speech would be like a sermon to the converted, Dr Lucas spoke straight at the television camera. She has an easy confidence and a clear grasp of what she is trying to convey. It is this clarity of vision that she thinks is essential to the prospects of the Green Party: it was the “urgency of getting our message across as effectively as possible” that motivated the party’s constitutional shift to a leadership system in 2008.

The position of Principal Speaker that the Greens used until last year was meant to be a symbolic rejection of the top-down models that the major parties in Parliament used, but the move away from it, says Dr Lucas, was “a very pragmatic decision”. When I ask her whether this pragmatism was in fact a capitulation to the media agenda that shapes the political culture she evades the implicit criticism, insisting that the public like to have “a person they can recognise and associate with those ideas” – I take that as a politician’s ‘yes’. They have clearly embraced that personality culture judging by the prominence of Dr Lucas’ friendly visage on the campaign leaflets that have poured through my letter box in the last week. She is as fresh-faced as David Cameron, her short-cropped hair strikes an effortlessly modern look, and, uniquely amongst current party leaders, she’s a woman.

 I am interested in whether Dr Lucas sees gender as an important dimension of politics, in particular regarding the under-representation of women in the House of Commons. She immediately fleshes out the context of the problem: the image of “grey-suited men in Westminster” and the “Punch-and-Judy politics” of their parliamentary exchanges just “isn’t very attractive to women”. She is insistent that the Greens “try to do politics differently”, but this brings us back to the tension between principle and pragmatism that surrounded the leadership issue. I press Dr Lucas on how her party is “more women-friendly” as she claims it is and she outlines on the one hand the support that they offer their female candidates in balancing the demands of a family and a political career, but she also makes reference to the “culture” within the party that, in contrast to the Lib-Lab-Con model, is about accountability and accessibility.

As a woman, she aims to offer “an inspirational type of leadership” in contrast to the “clunking fist of Gordon Brown or the spin of David Cameron”, rejecting an “authoritarian” style of managing her party. I wonder whether this noble approach (including the mandatory re-election of the leader every two years) is only possible because the party has no seats in the Commons, no need for whips, no backbenchers to cajole – in fact, little hope of getting these things either.

  Unsurprisingly, Dr Lucas resists the conclusion that the Greens are bereft of prospects in the British Parliament; although she is herself an MEP, a position elected by a system of proportional representation in stark contrast to first-past-the-post. Even within the Westminster system, she passionately believes, there are a “handful” of seats that are within reach of electing a Green MP, listing constituencies to substantiate her claim. So, what are the Green Party’s ambitions for the next general election, which may only be months away? One million votes.

She is clearly in favour of state-sponsorship for all parties to level the playing field of funding campaigns, but beyond that she insists that we must “massively rejuvenate our entire parliamentary system”. In her eyes the recent scandal of MPs expenses only adds to the chronic failings of the culture and institutions of British politics, which – when it is not riling them up – switches ordinary people off. She is animated when she insists that “politics has to be something much broader, much more vibrant, much more alive”.

Surely the European Union invokes at least as much anger and apathy though, I suggest. She doesn’t disagree, but insists that this is a product of a “eurosceptic” media and a political elite who refuse to acknowledge that, for instance, on the environment 80 per cent of our legislation originates in Brussels.

As a campaigner on environmental issues she believes it is often possible to have “more influence in Europe” than if she were a backbencher in London, an admission that will not prevent her seeking her own seat in the Commons as Green Party candidate for Brighton Pavilion at the next election. It is with this in mind that I interpret her central European Parliament campaign policy of 1 million ‘green-collar’ jobs in Britain as part of a Green New Deal, reconstituting Roosevelt’s Keynesian revolution for today’s economic as well as environmental crisis.

Dr Lucas may be a great champion of Europe and a dedicated MEP, but she recognises that the Greens will need to offer the voting public bread-and-butter issues with a tangible impact if they are going to make headway in domestic politics. What will prove fascinating to observe over coming years is whether the pragmatic desire for political influence that has recently fired the Green Party under Dr Lucas will inevitably compromise the values and integrity which give them a small but respected niche in our polarized political landscape. If it does not, maybe Caroline will have succeeded in her quest to “redefine what politics is”.

What is the European Parliament?

The European Parliament (EP) is the only directly elected institution in the European Union. The first direct elections were held in 1979, and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected at five-year intervals. Together with the Council, the EP forms part of the legislative branch of the EU. Whereas the Council represents the interests of national governments, the Parliament is meant to represent European citizens.
The EP is organized similarly to a national parliament  with 7 Euro parties with distinct policy platforms. The 785 MEPs  sit together with their party group, rather than with their national delegation. The largest group in the EP is currently the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), which includes the British Conservatives. The second largest group is the Party of European Socialists (PES), where the British Labour Party belongs.

What does it do?

The main task of the EP, like a national parliament,is to pass legislation and to exercise democratic control over the other EU institutions. With each revision of the EU Treaties, the European Parliament has been granted additional powers. Today it is a genuine co-legislator in the European Union. That is, it is responsible for legislation, together with the Council, in most policy areas.Around 50% of UK legislation with a significant economic impact has its origins in EU legislation, and the EP thus has considerable influence on politics and economics in this country. One example of recent EP activities is legislation forcing mobile phone operators to lower their prices. It has also passed rules aiming to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% within a decade. Unlike national parliaments, the EP does not directly decide the composition of the EU executive, although it has veto over the appointment of the European Commission. It also does not have legislative initiative, as most national EU parliaments do.

What could these elections change?

The Euro elections will decide the composition of the European Parliament, thus the policy direction. Some of the key policy issues that the next Parliament will deal with include designing a framework of financial regulation, deciding on regulation to combat climate change, and coordinating common management of immigration flows to/within the EU.
The European Parliament also plays an important role in deciding the future of European integration, including future enlargement of the Union to include Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey.
If the centre-right European People’s Party remains in power, then the current Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, is also likely to be reappointed for a second term. If, however, the Socialist group wins a larger share of the seats, they may force the Council to appoint another candidate with a more leftist policy agendasuch as fingerprints and face recognition data or an iris pattern scan.

How will they affect British politics?

The Labour Party looks set to do badly in the Euro elections. This may trigger renewed calls for Brown’s resignation within the Labour Party. The Conservatives will use this as another opportunity to call for an immediate general election, which they are likely to win, maybe even by a landslide.
In general, it will be parties on the fringes of British politics that reap the benefits from the recent furor over MP expenses. In particular, the UK Independence Party will do well. The British National Party is likely to win its first European seat. If the Conservative Party loses seats to UKIP and BNP, the party leadership may be tempted to adopt a more hard-line position on issues concerning the EU, immigration and law and order. David Cameron has already pledged that his party will leave the centrist EPP after the election and establish a new party group of Eurosceptic European Conservatives in the EP.

Do people vote for their European candidate, or is it really a reaction to their national government?

Elections to the European Parliament are generally described as ‘second-order’ elections. That is, they are elections of less importance than general elections, and thus characterized by low turnout and lacklustre campaign. They often constitute a plebiscite on the national government’s performance, where vote choice is primarily decided by domestic political concerns rather than European politics.
This is particularly the case in Britain, where the political parties make few attempts to campaign on European issues and voters are uninformed about the European politics.  In other European countries, there is a more rigorous debate on European issues, and voters are more likely to vote on the basis of concerns relevant to the European Union.
Turnout levels also vary considerably between member states. In the 2004 Euro elections, less than 20% of the electorate voted in Slovakia and Slovenia,whereas 82% voted in Malta and 73% in Italy. The participation rate in Britain at 38% was below the EU average of 46%.