> Why does almost no Green Party win an outright majority in any European national election?
> By the current set of politicians. Who are ultimately voted in by voters.
> voting isn't that much of a personal sacrifice
> Why does half the US continue to vote for a political party that outright denies man-made climate change?
Average citizen preferences have no bearing[1] on the adoption of legislation. [1](https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/fi...)
> Because we had slightly more sensible politicians back then
I cannot understate how much I disagree with the idea that politics was somehow more sensible "back then". Politicians are not more stubborn or unreasonable today, because __people__ are not more stubborn or unreasonable today.