Ewolucja elektoratu partii Zielonych w Republice Federalnej Niemiec

Abstrakt

The beginning of the eighties in the FRG brought a significant change on the political scene, which manifested in creating a new party - the Greens (Die Grünen). It is due to their electorate that the Greens take an important place in the German political system. The party is characterized by its openness to new problems and new solutions, which resulted in gaining a wide electorate. The article analyses the evolution of “the Green electoral potential" drawing a particular attention to the social and psychological structure of the voters and their motives to cast their votes on the Green Party. The Greens’ electorate gathers young people who belong to the middle class, dwell in urban areas, are well educated and subscribe to postmaterial values. The voters are motivated by problems of the environmental threats the Greens undertake, as well as by dissatisfaction and criticism of the FRG’s political system. Finally, they want to present and manifest a new lifestyle. The author suggests that the forecast concerning stability of the “Green electorate” for the nearest years should be optimistic providing that no spectacular little known events take place as they could question the loyalty of the Greens’ electoral potential.