Red–red–green coalition

In Austria, the term "red–red–green" (German: Rot-rot-grün) refers to a coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ), and The Greens.[1] Red refers to the SPÖ and KPÖ and green refers to the Greens, though the KPÖ is sometimes denoted as "dark red" (German: Dunkelrot).[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

In Germany, "red–red–green" (German: Rot-rot-grün), often shortened to "R2G", refers to a coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), 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.[5]

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[6] and the Saarland after their respective state elections in 2009, and North Rhine-Westphalia in 2010.[7] Furthermore, minority governments between the SPD and Greens received external support from The Left (previously the PDS) 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.[8][9] 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 MdBs 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 (red), Centre Party (green), and Socialist Left (red).[10] After the 2013 federal election, both the Greens and SPD declared their willingness to consider a red–red–green coalition in the future.[11] 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.[5] The three parties ultimately fell short of a combined majority.[12]

In Norway, the red–green coalition was a coalition government of the Labour Party (Ap), Socialist Left Party (SV), and Centre Party (Sp). Unlike most similar coalitions, the "green" Centre Party is a centrist, Eurosceptic Nordic agrarian party rather than a conventional 'green' party. The red–green coalition took office after the 2005 election and governed until its defeat in the 2013 election. Despite the dissolution of the coalition, the three parties are often collectively referred to with the "red–green" label. They again won a combined majority in the 2021 election and sought to form a coalition.[13] However, negotiations were unsuccessful and the Socialist Left Party did not join the government.[14]

In Sweden, the Red-Greens (Swedish: De rödgröna[15]) was a political alliance in Sweden, established on 7 December 2008.[16] It consisted of the Social Democrats, Left Party and Greens in the Riksdag, sitting in opposition to the centre-right Alliance for Sweden coalition government. The Red-Greens aimed to achieve a majority at the 2010 Swedish general election and form a coalition government. However, they failed to unseat the incumbent centre-right Alliance government, and the pact was dissolved in October 2010.[17] The Social Democrats and Greens maintained close cooperation and formed a minority coalition government after the 2014 general election, with the Left Party providing confidence and supply.