Why are Green parties polling badly for the European

There is little data to support fears of a ‘greenlash’ – instead voters may have other priorities such as inflation or the Ukraine war

Europe live – latest updates

Voters may deal Green parties a blow that costs them up to one-third of their seats, if polls before this week’s European elections prove correct, in a shift that could lead to a rollback of climate policies with the effects rippling far beyond the continent.

At first glance, the projected slump in support – which follows months of protests from farmers against environmental rules – reads like a backlash against climate policies set by politicians who tried to move too far, too fast.