Red–red–green coalition
Red–red–green coalition, alternatively "red–green–red" or "green–red–red", refers to a left-wing political alliance of two "red" social democratic, socialist, or communist parties with one "green" environmentalist party.
By country
Austria
In Austria, the term "red–red–green" refers to a coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Austria, Communist Party of Austria, and [The Green Party (Sweden)|Greens – The The Greens (France)|Green Alternative|The Greens]. Red refers to the SPÖ and KPÖ and green refers to the Greens, though the KPÖ is sometimes denoted as "dark red". Such a coalition has been discussed almost exclusively in the context of local politics in Graz, Austria's second-largest city, where the KPÖ has maintained a strong presence since the late 1990s. Unsuccessful discussions took place for such a coalition after the 2003 local election. In the 2021 Graz local election, the three "red–red–green" parties won a majority on the city council and subsequently formed a coalition government.France
In Paris a coalition of Socialist, Communist and Green Parties swept to power in 2014. In the following years the city rose to the top of ratings for cycling-friendly cities and became what Slate Magazine called "utopia for cyclists and pedestrians".Germany
In Germany, "red–red–green", often shortened to "R2G", refers to a coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Germany, The Left, and Alliance 90/The Greens. The name refers to the traditional colours of the parties, with red for the SPD and Left and green for the Greens, though the Left is typically represented by purple to distinguish it from the SPD.Though the possibility of such a coalition was discussed as early as the 1990s, it took until 2014 for the first red–red–green government to take office on a state level. Prior to this, unsuccessful discussions took place in the states of Thuringia and the Saarland after their respective state elections in 2009, and North Rhine-Westphalia in 2010. Furthermore, minority governments between the SPD and Greens received external support from The Left in Saxony-Anhalt from 1994 to 1998, Berlin from 2001 to 2002, and North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 to 2012. The first red–red–green coalition government was formed in 2014 in Thuringia, where it was led by The Left. Red–red–green coalitions have since been formed in Berlin in 2016 and Bremen in 2019, both under the leadership of the SPD. Such coalitions have also been established on a local level in cities including Dresden, Erfurt, and Saarbrücken.
The possibility of a federal red–red–green coalition has been discussed at various times. In 2009, a group of members of the federal parliament from the SPD, Left, and Green parties began attending joint meetings at Berlin's Café Walden. They were subsequently dubbed the "Oslo group" in reference to the then-governing coalition of Norway comprising the Labour Party, Centre Party, and Socialist Left. After the 2013 federal election, both the Greens and SPD declared their willingness to consider a red–red–green coalition in the future. The coalition was widely discussed in the lead-up to the 2021 federal election, and the possibility of entering government played a major role in the Left's election strategy. The three parties ultimately fell short of a combined majority.