BRUSSELS — The European Union should loosen its “rigid” adherence to climate neutrality and allow itself to miss its 2050 net-zero goal by up to 10 percent, Germany’s minister for energy and economy told a major oil and gas conference in the United States. Speaking at the annual CERAWeek conference in Texas late Monday, Katherina Reiche called the EU’s goal to slash its planet-warming pollution to net zero by mid-century into question. Europe, for a long time, “had left a corridor, there wasn’t a net-zero … it was, for Europe, a goal [to reduce emissions] between 85 and 95 percent,” she claimed, likely referring to a non-binding European Commission roadmap from 2011. “There is a flexibility we have to get back, accept not 100 percent solutions but allowing different solutions and technologies and accept that there might be a gap of maybe a 5 or 10 percent by 2050,” she added. “If you have strict and rigid goals, you bind yourself, it ends up that you lose industries that you need … and we can’t afford that we lose our energy-intensive industries in Europe and in Germany.” Reiche’s comments mark a rare departure from the EU consensus. The bloc set itself a net-zero by 2050 goal in 2019, with only Poland not formally committing to the new milestone. Last year, EU governments agreed on an intermediate target to slash the bloc’s emissions by up to 90 percent by 2040. Germany has set itself even stricter goals, aiming to become climate neutral by 2045. Throughout her remarks at CERAWeek, Reiche stressed that economic growth must come before green targets. “At the end of the day, it is good to have a goal of sustainability — but if sustainability crashes your economy, you have to readjust,” she said. “And that’s what we’re doing right now.” In Germany, Reiche has in recent months unveiled plans to build out gas power plants, scrap the previous government’s gas boiler phaseout, remove subsidies for rooftop solar panels, and deprioritize the connection of renewables from the country’s power grid. She also told the Texas audience that Germany should drill for fossil fuels in the North Sea, saying: “We have a gas field in the North Sea, which we don’t want to explore. I think we can’t stick to this attitude. We have to also go into our own reserves.” And she insisted: “I am not speaking against sustainability, and not against a climate target. But if a climate target ignores other things you have to think of, especially affordability and abundance … you have to change course.” Mike Lee contributed to this report from Texas.

The European Union and Australia have concluded talks on a free trade deal that could boost export volumes by as much as one third, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in Canberra. Von der Leyen shook hands on the agreement with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Tuesday, on the second of her three-day visit to Australia — finally sealing the accord after a previous attempt collapsed amid acrimony in 2023.  The Commission president told the Australian parliament the trade deal was necessary to build resilience to economic shocks.  “None of us is immune to the shocks, both geopolitical and economic, that the war in Iran brings to our populations,” von der Leyen said. Von der Leyen told the special parliamentary sitting of MPs and senators — she was the first woman to address a joint sitting in Australian history — that the deal would send a message that “when it comes to trade, Europe is open for business.”  “We are rearming. We are decarbonizing. We are preparing. We are becoming an independent Europe. And this means a more outward Europe. And this is why I am here today. Because showing up matters,” she said.  With U.S. President Donald Trump slamming tariffs on allies globally, Brussels and Canberra rekindled their negotiations last year. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, who was in Canberra for the signing of the free-trade deal, stressed both countries’ commitment to a rules-based world order when he briefed journalists on Monday ahead of the final talks. “We are sending a strong signal that we prefer a low tariff — or in this case: no tariffs — and that we want to work on rules-based mechanisms,” Šefčovič said. Sensitive market access for Australian beef and sheep meat, plus sugar, rice and some dairy was the last point of discussion.  The two sides are believed to have agreed that Australia will be able to export between 30,000 and 35,000 tonnes of beef to Europe a year, up from the current 3,389 tons. Brussels had held firm to 30,000 metric tons during talks in recent weeks. In an earlier joint press conference, Albanese also suggested that Australia had extracted some concessions from the EU on the issue of geographic indicators, which could enable Australian producers to continue using names including feta, halloumi and Parmesan.  The issue was politically sensitive, with Australia’s European communities arguing they should be allowed to continue producing their food products under their original names.  “Whether it’s Greeks coming here and creating feta, or Italians coming and doing Parmesan [cheese], or people from Eastern Europe doing Kransky sausages … It’s a connection with Europe. It’s part of our strength,” Albanese said.   Australia will agree to protect the names of 165 European food products and 237 spirits. The two sides also agreed to modernize an existing wine agreement, which covers 50 new ones and includes — in a win for Brussels — prosecco as well.  Coming just two months after the EU signed a deal with the Latin-American Mercosur bloc — also a major beef producer — the Australian agreement is meant to deliver benefits for farmers, Šefčovič said.  “I believe that we are bringing very good news to our farmers,” he said, arguing that wine, sparkling wine, chocolate, sugar, confectionery, ice cream, some fruits and vegetables and many processed agricultural products will all “go down to zero from Day 1.” Cheeses, which are more sensitive for the Australians, will see tariffs phased out in three years. The trade chief also underlined EU agrifood exports to Australia already enjoy a surplus of €2.3 billion.  EU exports to Australia totalled €37 billion in goods and €28 billion in services in 2024, with the deal set to eliminate tariffs on almost all EU goods and many services. The agreement could boost that by one third in 10 years, the Commission estimates. A major win for the EU will be easier access to Australia’s natural resource wealth and incentives for European investments for Australian mining and refining. “Australia has almost all the critical minerals we need,” Šefčovič said. Speaking of the EU’s need for critical minerals, von der Leyen told lawmakers that a new partnership with Australia would be “crucial” to the EU, which ran the risk of becoming over-dependent on Chinese supplies. “That is precisely why we need each other,” she said.  Brussels also won a pledge from Australia to raise the threshold for its luxury car tax by almost 50 percent. Canberra currently charges a 33 percent levy on foreign-made cars above A$80,000 (or A$92,000 for a fuel-efficient one). Šefčovič said that will rise to A$120,000.  Koen Verhelst reported from Brussels; James Panichi reported from Melbourne.

What makes a tree important? Is it the ability to withstand storms, wars and human greed through the centuries? The people that rest in its shade, the lovers who carve their names, the playing children creating eternal memories? Or is it just what country it grows in? The organizers of the European Tree of the Year contest, a relatively niche event on the Brussels social calendar, have been grappling with these questions for years. The competition, which started in 2002 as a national event in Czechia before expanding to Europe in 2011, has over the years crowned an Estonian oak that stood in the middle of a football pitch; a lone pine that survived a flood in a Czech village; and a 500-year-old Romanian lime tree that is part of local folk legend. The contest’s last four winners, however, all grew in Poland. “From the beginning, the competition was not about the beauty of the trees, but about the stories and the communities. [But] the last four years, it became difficult because it turned into a competition between nations,” said Petr Skřivánek, who runs the event on behalf of the Environmental Partnership Association, a Czech NGO. Poland’s recent success is largely due to Make Life Harder, the country’s most popular Instagram meme account, which has been promoting the contest to its 1.7 million followers since 2021. The enthusiastic response has been both a blessing and a curse. “It’s really good because it can really attract visitors. But any time the website is down, I know it’s because they posted a link to it,” Skřivánek said. His routine as the overwhelmed website administrator is itself the subject of memes from the account. “You don’t only vote for the tree that you like, but you have to vote for another tree — so you don’t just express support on a national level,” said Michal Wiezik, a Renew MEP who has been an ambassador for the contest since 2019. “But the Polish were able to crack the system.” Things took a nastier turn last year, when a whiff of online hooliganism arrived to disturb the sylvan community. MEP Michal Wiezik attends a European Parliament meeting in Brussels on Jan. 27, 2025. | Martin Bertrand/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images La Revuelta, a comedy talk show on Spain’s La 1 public broadcaster, launched a campaign to support their nation’s champion, the Pine of Juan Molinera. The program identified a Polish tree — Heart of the Dalkowskie Hills —  as its main competition. During the segment, as comedian Lalachus sang a cover of Eros Ramazzotti’s La cosa más bella (“The most beautiful thing”) in praise of the Spanish contestant, another comic held up signs saying “The Polish tree smells like armpits” and “The tree from Poland, what a load of shit.” Make Life Harder shared the clips on Instagram, unleashing a bitter feud on social media. (Neither Make Life Harder, RTVE nor Lalachus replied to requests for comment from POLITICO.) The tension ultimately spread to the European Parliament, which hosted the awards ceremony. “The atmosphere was not good in the venue. And on the stream, it was not nice either,” Skřivánek said. Spain finished third; Poland won. “I hope this was the first year and the last year when this competition became a space for spreading hate and being aggressive to others,” said Anna Gomułka in accepting the award for Heart of the Dalkowskie Hills. “We felt we had to defend our honor. At some point, voting became an expression of patriotism,” Gomułka wrote in an email to POLITICO. To avoid such tensions in future and to make the online vote more suspenseful, the organizers are now using a system of “tree points” in which trees from smaller countries get more points for each vote than trees from larger countries. As a result of the changes, the 2026 competition “was really less nationalist compared to previous years,” Skřivánek said. This year’s winner will be named Tuesday during a ceremony in Brussels.

The EU has sent assistance to Moldova after a Russian attack on a Ukrainian hydroelectric station, which is suspected of polluting the Dniester River, left hundreds of thousands without safe drinking water. The river, also known as the Nistru river, flows through both countries. The Russian attack took place upstream of Moldova. “Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Novodnistrovsk hydropower plant has spilled oil into the Nistru River, threatening Moldova’s water supply,” wrote President Maia Sandu. “Russia bears full responsibility,” she added. The city of Bălți and the surrounding areas in northern Moldova have been without running water for several days, according to Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu.  “Our teams are working around the clock on the ground, using all available resources, and our priority is to restore the water supply. However, this will only be done under conditions that fully ensure people’s safety and health,” wrote Munteanu. Russia’s ambassador to Moldova, Oleg Ozerov, was summoned by the government on Monday to answer for the damage, and was “gifted” a plastic bottle filled with polluted water from the Dniester River. Brussels triggered its Civil Protection mechanism on Tuesday to provide emergency assistance to the affected areas of the Moldova, which is an EU candidate country. Luxembourg and neighboring Romania have sent rescue supplies, it was announced today. Russia has frequently targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since invading the country more than four years ago. Neighboring countries have been affecting previously, too, with Russian drones sometimes violating EU countries’ airspace.

BRUSSELS — The European Union and Australia are expected to conclude talks on a long-awaited trade deal early next week, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday announcing she would visit from March 23-25.  Von der Leyen will meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra, according to a Commission statement. Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is also expected to join the trip, although planning might yet change due to flight disruptions in the Middle East. Albanese confirmed the visit, saying in a statement that he would meet both von der Leyen and Šefčovič on March 24. Brussels and Canberra relaunched trade negotiations after Donald Trump’s return to the White House last year. They had collapsed amid acrimony at the end of 2023 amid disagreements over quotas on beef and lamb. The breakthrough comes as the EU looks to get closer to the Pacific-centered CPTPP trade bloc through its deepening bonds with Australia. In a letter to EU leaders shared Monday, von der Leyen said the EU and Australia were in “the final stretch towards concluding” their trade agreement.  “In addition to removing trade barriers, it will also facilitate access to critical raw materials — such as lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements, and hydrogen — and strengthen Europe’s presence in one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions,” she wrote, as part of a list on the Commission’s efforts to boost competitiveness. Negotiators had grappled in the home stretch to close the gap on access for Australian beef and lamb to the European market; EU trade protections on specialty foods; critical minerals; and an Australian tax on luxury cars. Canberra and Brussels are also looking to seal a security and defense partnership, which is finalized.  The EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas, who would be signing the defense deal, known as Security and Defense Partnership, is however not expected to be part of the trip. The pace would come on the heels of similar partnerships signed with the U.K., Canada and most recently India. Speaking last week at at the annual gathering of diplomats with the External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic body, Kallas said that the deal was coming as she announced that “later this week, I will sign the tenth [SDP] with Australia and subsequent ones with Iceland and Ghana in the coming days.”     James Panichi, Zoya Sheftalovich, Sebastian Starcevic and Nette Nöstlinger contributed reporting.

The European Commission is set to reject calls for an EU-wide ban on fur farming, opting instead to propose stricter animal-welfare standards for the sector, according to an internal draft communication seen by POLITICO. The undated document, setting out Brussels’ long-awaited response to the “Fur Free Europe” European Citizens’ Initiative, indicates the Commission believes species-specific welfare rules, rather than prohibition, represent the “most appropriate follow-up” to the campaign backed by more than 1.5 million EU citizens. Animal Welfare Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi is expected to steer the file through the final stages of internal consultation in the coming days, as the executive races to meet its self-imposed deadline to outline next steps by the end of March. The draft marks a significant setback for campaigners and several member countries that had hoped the Commission would seize the initiative to phase out fur farming across the bloc. The citizens’ petition, one of the largest ever submitted under the EU’s participatory mechanism, triggered a formal legal obligation for Brussels to assess possible legislative action. Instead, the Commission’s preliminary conclusion is that outright bans would carry “significant economic impacts” for the remaining fur-producing regions while failing to achieve the intended welfare gains if production simply shifts to third countries. The draft does not spell out what stricter welfare rules would look like in practice. The Commission would aim to propose legislation setting EU-wide standards for mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas by the end of 2027. The document cites changing consumer attitudes as part of its rationale for the fur trade to continue. It says that buyers who continue to purchase fur “increasingly place importance” on how animals are treated and on broader sustainability concerns, suggesting that tougher and more transparent welfare rules could help shape remaining demand. But the standards-first approach has not been without resistance inside the Commission. The plan follows weeks of internal wrangling in Brussels, with some senior officials pushing to explore a ban. People familiar with the discussions said the cabinet of Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera ultimately accepted the standards-based route, while seeking a clearer and potentially faster legislative timeline. The decision could still face political headwinds. Several governments are pressing the Commission for clarity on its intentions, and diplomats say the issue is likely to resurface at upcoming meetings of EU agriculture ministers. The Commission’s stance contrasts with the findings of the European Food Safety Authority, which warned in a 2025 scientific opinion that the cage-based production systems used in fur farming lead to major welfare problems for animals. Many of these cannot be substantially mitigated without an overhaul of the current system, EFSA concluded. The document also underscores how sharply the sector has already declined. Fewer than 1,000 fur farms remained active across the EU in 2024, employing roughly 2,000 people, with production increasingly concentrated in a limited number of member states, including Finland, Greece and Spain.

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s anti-deforestation law will put United States producers off exporting to the European market, harming EU competitiveness, a senior official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture told reporters in Brussels Friday. The law, also called EUDR, is “going to discourage us from looking at the European market” and from “paying attention to any European rules [linked to deforestation],” the official said. The law as it stands would affect $9 billion of U.S. trade to the EU annually, added the official, who spoke to journalists on condition that he was not named. A delegation of U.S. government representatives is finishing a tour of EU capitals — including Madrid, Rome, Paris, Berlin and Brussels — to lobby governments to simplify the EUDR ahead of an upcoming review of the rules next month. One example of a sector that could be affected is livestock farming, the official said, arguing these farmers depend on soybeans to feed their animals, and Europe does not produce enough protein feed. “It needs to import from countries that are better at it, like us,” he said, warning that the U.S. stopping that export “will drive up their costs, hurt their competitiveness.” The EU’s anti-deforestation law requires that companies police their supply chains to ensure that any commodities they use, such as palm oil, beef or coffee, have not contributed to deforestation. After complaints from industry groups and trade partners, EU institutions in December agreed to put off implementation of the law by a year — until Dec. 2026 — and mandated the Commission to present a review of the rules by April. “It’s particularly difficult for us because these [compliance] costs will be borne by our producers,” said the official. U.S. farmers also don’t want to share information on their farms with foreign governments, he said. Washington’s main qualms with the law include the fact that there’s no category of “negligible” risk in the EU’s ranking of countries by risk of deforestation. The U.S. — like all EU member countries as well as China, Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Vietnam and others — has been labeled “low risk” under the EU’s deforestation classification system. Members of the European Parliament in the center-right European People’s Party have also backed the introduction of a “no risk” category, “for countries with stable or expanding forest areas.” The senior official also complained about a stipulation in the law that if the level of deforestation in any country exceeds 70,000 hectares annually, that country cannot be considered “low risk.” That standard “just doesn’t work for us,” they said. “It’s not fair.” Representatives from the European Commission are meeting with members of the delegation on Friday “at technical level” to discuss the law, a spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed to POLITICO. European Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall told reporters in January that there would be no new legislative proposal come April, saying businesses need “predictability.” A 2024 report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service estimated that, in 2023, U.S. exports of the seven commodities under the EUDR accounted for approximately 3 percent of the value of U.S. exports to the EU, “so overall the EUDR may not significantly affect U.S. trade.” European Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall told reporters in January that there would be no new legislative proposal come April, saying businesses need “predictability.” | Gabriel Luengas/Europa Press via Getty Images Still, the authors wrote, the law could affect U.S. producers of specific commodities covered by the law. In 2023, the highest value of covered commodities exported to the EU from the U.S. were wood and wood products ($4.5 billion), soybeans ($4 billion), rubber ($1.1 billion), and cattle, such as beef and related products ($409 million). Environmental groups are calling on EU governments and the Commission to stick by the EUDR and keep the rules intact. “Misleading and self-serving foreign pressure on the EU should not distract policy-makers from staying focused on facts,” said Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, manager for forests at WWF EU, in an emailed statement. “Every year the EUDR is postponed results in the loss of nearly 50 million trees and the release of 16.8 million tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere.”

BRUSSELS — The European Commission has set in motion the process to provisionally implement the EU’s trade deal with the South American countries of Mercosur, likely from the start of May. The College of Commissioners this week “agreed on the necessary procedural steps enabling the Commission to complete the remaining legal and procedural formalities,” Deputy Chief Spokesperson Olof Gill said.  The EU executive will now prepare and send a note verbale to Paraguay, the legal guardian of the treaties, that allows the agreement to take provisional effect on the first day of the second month after the exchange of notes. “We cannot confirm the exact date for this yet,” Gill told POLITICO. It is however likely that this exchange of notes will still take place in March — allowing the EU and Mercosur to remove tariffs on a series of goods as of May.  Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced at the end of February that Brussels would provisionally implement the controversial agreement with the bloc that comprises Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The accord, more than 25 years in the making, will create a free-trade area of 720 million people. The move sparked a backlash from critics who said the step short-circuited the deal’s formal approval by EU lawmakers. The European Parliament in January sent it for review by the Court of Justice of the European Union, effectively freezing its final ratification for up to two years. But the step is procedurally possible after EU member countries voted in January to authorize von der Leyen to go ahead. Opponents of the deal, led by France and Poland, opposed the deal but failed to muster the requisite blocking minority to stop it. Von der Leyen then signed the deal in Paraguay, and Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil have since ratified the agreement. Under the interim agreement, Mercosur would remove tariffs on more than 90 percent of European exports. Some would be abolished immediately, while others such as for autos, would be reduced gradually. EU exporters would save €4 billion per year, the Commission estimates. The interim agreement would remain in effect until final ratification, after which it would be replaced by a comprehensive trade deal and investment agreement.

Every day across Europe, millions of citizens wear, sleep on, eat off or rely on rental textiles provided by industrial laundries. From hospital linens and reusable surgical gowns to industrial workwear, hotel bedding, restaurant textiles and hygiene products, textile services operate quietly but indispensably at the heart of Europe’s economy. In many countries, more than 90 percent of hospitals and hotels would be forced to close within days without a continuous supply of hygienically cleaned textiles, while pharmaceutical and food production facilities would halt operations within 24 hours. Behind this essential service stands a highly organi z ed European industry that combines operational excellence with a circular, service-based business model — washing and keeping textiles in use for longer, reducing waste and lowering environmental impact while safeguarding public health. By relying on reuse, repair and professional maintenance, the system significantly reduces the need for virgin raw materials sourced from outside Europe. At the same time, these locally anchored service models create skilled jobs, generate tax revenues in the communities where companies operate and drive continuous innovation in circular solutions — supporting new business opportunities and industrial development across the European Union . > In this time of on going and challenging geo-political change, it will become > crucial to fully recogni z e the strategic value of circular, service-based > business models, which strengthen competitiveness and resilience while > delivering on Europe’s sustainability objectives. > > Hartmut Engler, CEO of CWS Workwear As several important legislative files move forward in Brussels, it is time to reflect on what textile services need to continue to implement sustainable solutions. Public procurement rules are a great vector to promote and encourage circular business models while delivering on the strategic autonomy ambition of the EU. Public authorities across the EU spend over € 2.6 trillion annually on purchasing services, works and supplies, accounting for around 15 percent of the EU ’s GDP. However, too much of this investment is directed toward linear services and disposable goods, slowing down progress toward Europe’s environmental and industrial objectives. With the revision of the EU public procurement rules, it should be recogni z ed that the EU’s circular economy and environmental aims are greatly advanced by the textile rental industry. Specifically, g reen p ublic p rocurement should become mandatory across all EU m ember s tates and should also encourage alternatives to direct purchase such as leasing models or product-as-a-service business models. Public procurement should not be driven solely by value-for-money considerations, but by a holistic lifecycle approach that reflects long-term environmental and social performance. Introducing mandatory lifecycle costing as an award criterion would ensure that sustainability is measured over the full duration of a contract, not just at the point of purchase. > Longevity of product should be the first priority of the upcoming Circular > Economy Act. The most sustainable product is ultimately the one that is kept > in use the longest, putting durability and repairability at the centre of > environmental benefits. > > Elena Lai, s ecretary g eneral of the European Textile Services Association European Textile Services Association (ETSA) members already deliver sustainable business models with product-as-a-service models implementing repair, reuse and extended use. Such business models should be empowered and further supported in legislation, hand in hand with recycling. Extending a product’s useful life delivers far greater climate and resource benefits than breaking products down for recycling after short use cycles. It preserves the embedded energy, water and raw materials already invested. However, prioriti z ing longevity does not mean neglecting end-of-life solutions. At the same time, ETSA members are joining forces to invest in a joint recycling pilot project, translating circular ambition into practical industrial solutions. They are developing innovative processes to transform end-of-life textiles into recycled fib er s suitable for insulation materials, industrial wipers and other high-value applications — with the long-term vision of advancing closed-loop systems in which recycled fib er s can increasingly serve as raw materials for new textile production. Recycling requires stable markets and long-term policy certainty, and the sector is actively investing in building both. By developing concrete use cases for recycled content, these initiatives help strengthen European recycling value chains while further reducing dependency on third-country suppliers. > Europe does not need to invent circular solutions from scratch. They already > exist. The priority now is to put in place policies that support circular, > service-based business models. These models are built on durability and > extending product lifespans to get more value from the resources we already > use. > > Elena Lai, s ecretary g eneral of the European Textile Services Association Textile services are not an emerging concept but a proven, scalable European solution — reducing consumption, anchoring jobs locally, safeguarding public health and lowering emissions. By recogni z ing and supporting service-based reuse models in forthcoming legislation, the EU can accelerate its sustainability ambitions while strengthening competitiveness and strategic autonomy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT * The sponsor is ETSA – European Textiles Service Association * The ultimate controlling entity is ETSA – European Textiles Service Association * This political advertisement advocates for the recognition and support of circular, service-based business models within forthcoming EU legislation; by addressing the Circular Economy Act, the revision of EU Public Procurement rules, Green Public Procurement requirements and lifecycle costing criteria, it seeks to influence policymakers and the public debate on EU sustainability, industrial policy and procurement frameworks, bringing it within the scope of the TTPA. More information here.

LONDON — Zack Polanski was once a Liberal Democrat. Now he’s eating his old party’s lunch.  Britain’s liberal centrists are scrambling to find their voice in Britain’s multi-party system as the self-described “eco-populist” Green Party leader grabs all the attention. The Liberal Democrats — the third-largest party in the U.K. House of Commons — failed to retain their £500 deposit in last month’s Gorton and Denton by-election in which the Greens convincingly took the Greater Manchester seat from the governing Labour Party.  They now face a big test in local elections in May. “There’s no question they’re being squeezed,” Tory peer and pollster Robert Hayward said of the Lib Dem position. They “may well be hit” in May as the Greens compete for the same “we don’t like you two parties” voice, he said.   It leaves long-serving leader Ed Davey facing questions about his strategy — and even his future as leader — as his party gathers in the northern English city of York for their spring conference this weekend.  ATTENTION ECONOMY  Lib Dem MPs should be having the time of their lives.  Their record-breaking 72 seats at the 2024 election saw their triumphant return as the third-largest party in the Commons after a near wipeout in 2015. The ruling Labour Party is deeply unpopular, and war in the Middle East has traditionally been election-winning territory for the centrists. In the aftermath of ex-Labour PM Tony Blair’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Liberal Democrats won parliamentary by-elections later that year and in 2004. Yet they are now jostling for attention with parties with far fewer parliamentary seats.  Reform UK is dominating conversation on the right of British politics — despite having just eight MPs — thanks to its poll lead, and eye-catching anti-immigration policies. The Liberal Democrats failed to retain their £500 deposit in last month’s Gorton and Denton by-election in which the Greens convincingly took the Greater Manchester seat from the governing Labour Party. | Stefan Rousseau/PA Images via Getty Images The Greens, with just five MPs, have found a strong communicator in Polanski, who became their leader last September and has eclipsed Davey, long known for his ability to capture media attention. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t frustrating,” said one Lib Dem MP about their coverage. Like others quoted, this person was granted anonymity to speak candidly.  “Why would you cover the Liberal Democrats?” a senior party figure asked. “We aren’t polling well enough for people to take it seriously that we might be a party of government next time.”  A Liberal Democrat spokesman pointed to the party’s success in 2024 as well as last year in local council by-elections. “Ed is the most popular leader in British politics and has established himself as the anti-Trump voice in Parliament,” the spokesman said. “Ed is the only leader with a plan to fix our NHS and end the cost of living crisis. We will take on the populists and win.” CAN’T BEAT ‘EM? JOIN ‘EM Davey became a household name performing questionable stunts during the 2024 general election campaign, and he continues to vie for attention with headline-grabbing positions on topics dominating the news.  He is consistently critical of U.S. President Donald Trump — most recently calling for King Charles’ planned state visit to the U.S. to be canceled. He also condemned “tax exiles” in Dubai affected by Iranian strikes, confronting online critics with pithy rebuttals.  Davey became a household name performing questionable stunts during the 2024 general election campaign, and he continues to vie for attention with headline-grabbing positions on topics dominating the news. | Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty Images He spearheaded a Commons debate criticizing the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — though this backfired when opponents pointed out he had praised the former Prince Andrew when he was a minister in the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government early 2010s. Earlier this year his deputy Daisy Cooper called for theTreasury to be replaced with a Department for Growth.  The party is also hoping to capture attention by creating a press conference room in its Westminster HQ, POLITICO reported last month. “Not everybody is fully signed up to that strategy,” the senior party figure quoted above said.  There is a “general unrest about the ‘let’s grab any passing headline we can, regardless of how closely it aligns to our values or our broader messaging’” approach, that figure added. “It’s not all about how many podcasts you’re on, how many times you get photos on the front page of whatever newspaper tickles your fancy,” the Lib Dem MP quoted above said.  Earlier this year his deputy Daisy Cooper called for theTreasury to be replaced with a Department for Growth. | Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images Sean Kemp, a former Lib Dem head of media, cautioned: “The coverage is no good if it’s coverage that actually loses you voters.” RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB Davey will have been leader for six years in August, and now some in his party are privately questioning if he is the right person to lead them in the long run.  “If we don’t make the size of gains that we thought we were going to, then I think some of the unease that’s being expressed behind closed doors might well be” made public, the senior party figure said of the Lib Dem local election result.  “There are questions being asked about who’s the right person to take us forward,” they added. Roz Savage, an MP elected in 2024, told PoliticsHome in an interview earlier this month she couldn’t give her view “on the record” on the question of Davey’s leadership.  Even Davey’s supporters acknowledge things need to change. Roz Savage, an MP elected in 2024, told PoliticsHome in an interview earlier this month she couldn’t give her view “on the record” on the question of Davey’s leadership. | Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images The MP quoted above said the party “definitely shouldn’t be standing still,” and had “to keep constantly evolving and adapting.” STEALING THEIR CLOTHES Davey’s rivals have been studying the Lib Dem playbook. Former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said her party had “learned a lot from watching Lib Dem by-election campaigns,” gaining “an understanding of what you need to do as a challenger party in terms of delivering your leaflets, the pattern of it.” Sam White, Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff in opposition, saw echoes of Lib Dem strategy in the Greens’ successful Gorton and Denton by-election campaign, where Polanski campaigned hard against Labour’s Middle East stance.  “This is how they do by-elections,” White said. “They happily face both ways. They offer the public a really low-cost way and low-risk way of giving a bloody nose to a governing party who’s quite unpopular,” he added.  STAYING THE COURSE  Others think the by-election trouncing is overblown, pointing to the party’s focus on Tory and Reform facing seats in the so-called “blue wall.” Former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said her party had “learned a lot from watching Lib Dem by-election campaigns.” | Isabel Infantes/PA Images via Getty Images “[The Greens] are not going to be part of the debate and the discussion in nearly all the places where the Liberal Democrats are going to be competitive,” a second Lib Dem MP said. “People in individual seats are not daft” about which party posed the best challenge. It is only sensible for parties to target areas where they can win in Britain’s majoritarian first-past-the-post electoral system, they added. Party veteran Kemp cautions the Lib Dems not to move left in response to the Green surge, warning Davey won’t be able to “out Polanski Polanski.”  “There is no gain for them in sounding massively left-wing,” he warned, adding: “They need to not scare people off.”  He advocates “greater ideological consistency” —  something he thinks will be easier given the party’s narrower focus on Tory and Reform facing seats. “Sometimes there’s benefits in being a bit boring,” he said.