{"text":[[{"start":7.99,"text":"The rise of populist and far-right parties in Sunday’s European parliament elections was partly mirrored by falls for green parties — even if the centre largely held. "},{"start":16.732,"text":"Five years after the euphoria the Greens experienced in 2019, when they increased their seats from 52 to 74, they slipped back to 53. "},{"start":25.274,"text":"The setback is unlikely to lead to a widescale rollback of EU climate policies. "},{"start":29.967,"text":"But it will surely mean less green ambition in the coming five years — with implications well beyond Europe. "}],[{"start":36.53,"text":"The Greens’ performance in 2019 may prove a high-water mark. "},{"start":40.434,"text":"In the more benign, pre-pandemic and prewar economic environment, mass rallies inspired by green groups and activists such as Greta Thunberg helped to make climate concerns a central electoral issue. "},{"start":50.952,"text":"In response, mainstream parties were adopting net zero pledges and Ursula von der Leyen, the then incoming European Commission president, made the Green Deal — which aims to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050 — her flagship project. "}],[{"start":65.05,"text":"Unfortunately, voters began to feel the impact of green policies on their wallets and lifestyles just as post-pandemic inflation and the energy shock from the Ukraine war kicked in. "},{"start":74.62899999999999,"text":"Some governments exacerbated the problem through mis-steps; the botched introduction by Germany’s three-way coalition — including the Greens — of a bill to replace new gas and oil heating systems with heat pumps created a backlash exploited by the far-right AfD. "}],[{"start":88.34,"text":"Hard-right parties elsewhere made political capital out of promises to slow the transition, and centre-right parties adopted watered-down versions of the same rhetoric. "},{"start":96.95700000000001,"text":"EU-wide farmers’ protests over environmental regulations seen as heavy-handed provided a very different backdrop to the 2024 vote. "}],[{"start":105.31,"text":"The overall picture is mixed. "},{"start":107.464,"text":"It is far more complex than green votes flowing directly to far-right parties — though green parties performed worst in France and Germany, where the far right did best. "},{"start":116.107,"text":"Greens fared better in Sweden, where the far right did not surge, and advanced in Denmark — while the Labour