Analysis: Germany's Greens get the blues ahead of hoped-for national election victory

FILE PHOTO: Robert Habeck, co-chairman of the German Greens Party, addresses the media at a news conference in Berlin, Germany, May 3, 2021. Michael Sohn/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - Just when they dared to dream of their first ever national election victory, Germany's Greens have been knocked off course.

A thumping by the conservatives in a regional election on Sunday rounded out a brutal couple of weeks for the ecologists that saw their squeaky-clean image tarnished by a bonus payment scandal and their suggestion that Germany should arm Ukraine.