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Red–green alliance

Political coalition between parties

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Through Politics, Green politics and Agrarianism

Red–green coalition governments

There have been a number of red–green governments in Europe since the 1990s.

  • In Germany, a red–green coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and Alliance '90/The Greens led by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder formed the federal government from September 1998 to September 2005. This coalition, later headed by Olaf Scholz, governed Germany as a minority from November 2024 to May 2025 after the former traffic light coalition collapsed.
  • In France, the 'Plural Left' coalition of the Socialist Party (PS), The Greens, French Communist Party and allies governed from 1997 until 2002. The Ayrault government which governed from May 2012 until March 2014 had ministers affiliated with the PS, Radical Party of the Left (PRG) and Europe Ecology – The Greens. The second Valls government (August 2014 to December 2016) and Cazeneuve Government (December 2016 to May 2017) were both formed of ministers from the PS, PRG and Ecologist Party.
  • In Finland, Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's first and second cabinets contained ministers from the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP), including Lipponen himself, and the Green League. The Green League participated in government from April 1995 until May 2002. The Rinne Cabinet formed in June 2019 is formed by the SDP as largest party, in coalition with the Green League, agrarian Centre Party, Swedish People's Party and Left Alliance.
  • In Norway, the Red-Green Coalition of the Labour Party, Socialist Left Party and Centre Party governed Norway as a majority government from the 2005 general election until 2013. The 'green' element was the Centre Party, an agrarian party with green as its official color.
  • In Iceland, the First and Second Cabinets of Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir were formed from a coalition of the Social Democratic Alliance and Left-Green Movement, governing from February 2009 to May 2013.
  • In Italy, from 1996 to 2001 and 2006–2008, the Prodi I, D'Alema I, D'Alema II, Amato II and Prodi II Cabinets included the social-democratic Democrats of the Left (later to become the Democratic Party) as the largest party, with the Federation of the Greens receiving at least one ministry. However, unlike a straightforward red–green alliance, these centre-left cabinets involved a broad range of political parties that were Catholic-inspired Christian left, social-liberal and even communist backgrounds.
  • In Denmark, the Thorning-Schmidt government, which governed from October 2011 to February 2014, contained the Social Democrats as the largest party in coalition with the Social Liberals and Socialist People's Party, the latter being a green party and member of the European Green Party and Global Greens.
  • In Sweden, the Löfven I Cabinet established on 3 October 2014 was a minority government coalition of the Social Democratic Party and Greens. This coalition was renewed on 21 January 2019 as the Löfven II Cabinet and 9 July 2021 as the Löfven III Cabinet, before being replaced on 30 November 2021 by the Andersson Cabinet, formed by the Social Democrats alone with external support from the Greens, Left Party and agrarian Centre Party.
  • In Portugal, the First António Costa Cabinet established on 26 November 2015 was a minority government led by the Socialist Party with external support from the Left Bloc, Portuguese Communist Party and The Greens, which governed until 26 October 2019.

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