Part of that answer lies in whether the Greens join with the Social Democrats (SPD) and succeed in incorporating their views into formal opposition to the ruling coalition of Christian Democrats and Free Democrats.
The Greens captured 44 seats in the 497-seat Bundestag, up from 27 seats in the 1983 election. They received 8 percent of the popular vote, representing more than 3 million voters. The ruling coalition received 53 percent of the vote, with the SPD receiving 37 percent.
Based on their record, the Greens are likely to concentrate initially on social and environmental issues. They will undoubtedly continue to oppose new industrial technologies which, according to a party spokesman, "do little to bring about a better quality of life." That opposition extends to research involving nuclear energy, genetic engineering, information and computer systems, and much of high-energy physics, in particular laser-based technologies.
