in a mere quarter century. Started out with people from all over the place. Oodles of 70s-style ultraleftists, bundled up with a hearty chunk of progressive Xians, romantic conservatives, and people from all segments of the political center who under the combined impact of environmental devastation and the nuclear arms race for the first time in their lives came to question what we used to call "the system" in those days. Now it's a very different story. Not very many of those who founded the party have stuck around. Two people who have been there from the get-go are Joschka Fischer and Christian Stroebele, the most prominent representatives of the realo and fundie wings of the party. As you might imagine, realos want to change "the system" from within, whereas fundies refuse to be "corrupted" by it. Until about ten years ago, fundies held a strong majority among the party activists. And even these days, they are quite capable of mustering the votes it takes to, say, derail a party convention. But the realos have had one incredible success story, which ultimately swept Joschka Fischer into the vice chancellorship. The party of Joschka Fischer stands for sustainability, fiscal responsibility, and civil rights. Not a bad mixture IMO.

If you can't convince them, confuse them. (Harry S. Truman)