The environment may have been the real winner of the European elections last week.
Overall the centre has been squeezed, resulting in a high degree of fragmentation: populist parties won in Italy, the United Kingdom and France while voters were also seen to swing from the centre to the Greens and Liberals. 69 Green Party MEPs were voted into the European Parliament, a growth of 40% since the last election and to a 9% position. This has secured enough seats to make itself a valuable partner in any pro-EU functioning coalition.