“New economic policy concept: Green imposition for the economy”

The German Green Party’s new economic policy concept “is going to demand a lot from companies”, as the party itself puts it, Silke Kersting writes on Handelsblatt Online. The party wants to “reflect environmental costs in prices in an ecologic-social market economy” and “decouple economic growth from the consumption of resources”, Kersting explains. The Greens want to encourage companies “to engage in ecologic modernisation” with a mixture of supportive and restrictive policies, she writes.  “The eco-party needs to get rid of its image to prohibit everything” in order to avoid a further slide in popular support, Kersting adds. The Greens therefore “count on dialogue and the opportunities of change”, she writes.

In a separate commentary for Handelsblatt Online, Kersting calls the Greens’ initiative for ecologic modernisation “a first step that other parties should follow”. But the party’s concept was also “lacking the international perspective”, which was needed to make sure Germany’s economy remains competitive, she writes.

Read the article in German here (behind paywall).

For background, see the CLEW factsheet The Green Party's draft election programme - a first look.