The greens and the urban middle class

With the German Greens riding high at 24% in some polls (at level with the SPD)the German financial daily Handelsblatt writes:

"The wave of approval for the Greens cannot be explained solely by pointing to the desolate state of the competition. In 1983, when the Greens first gained seats in the national parliament, they were outsiders, both politically and habitually. Now, they are in the center of society because their issues have gone mainstream. Greens embody the lives of the urban middle class: liberal, environmentally aware, cosmopolitan, tolerant and interested in social equality."

The local greens might well ask; does an urban middle class which embodies the values mentioned above, exist in Malta? My hunch is that this class is numerically weaker in Malta and even if it exists it is culturally less progressive. But it is bound to grow as incomes rise and more people get a tertiary education. But part of the Green success in Germany is a movement towards the center without losing the alternative edge. It is this which makes them conventional and sexy at the same time for people who have grown allergic to red flags and workerisms, are in the business of enjoying life but sincerely care about both social inclusion, the environment and civil rights.