A DELEGATE AT the Green Party’s annual convention this weekend summed up the mood, perhaps understandably, as “confused”. After three years in government, a party of protest for over two decades has made a painful adjustment and fully completed the transition to become a party of power. The Greens, in coalition with Fianna Fáil, have also demonstrated staying power. And they have shown considerable political skill and dexterity in advancing their own agenda in challenging times.
Fewer delegates attended this year’s convention which was preceded by internal party problems – the departure of a Senator (Deirdre de Burca) and the resignation as junior minister of Trevor Sargent, a former party leader. Nevertheless, the weekend’s debates under the theme “Doing the Right Thing” were marked by no great policy division among delegates and included some healthy self-criticism of aspects of the party’s performance in government; notably political cronyism – where the method of choosing members to sit on State boards remains unchanged and where former (defeated) Green councillors have been obvious beneficiaries of positive discrimination in their selection.
What party leader John Gormley brought to the convention was a personal negotiating triumph: an extra junior minister secured for the party following last week’s Cabinet reshuffle. For a parliamentary party to have two-thirds of its TDs in ministerial positions – two Cabinet members and two junior ministers – gives the Green Party an influence greatly out of proportion to its size. However, when the extra ministry derives from a secret agreement reached in 2007 during the party’s negotiations for government in very different economic times, it runs the risk of being seen as self-serving by a general public already distrustful of politicians. And among Fianna Fáil backbenchers, the Green Party’s ministerial gain is regarded as a loss at their expense.
By ensuring that Fianna Fáil kept its promise, Mr Gormley found himself under less pressure to honour his own undertaking. That was to step down as Minister and rotate his place in the Cabinet to a party colleague in accordance with yet another secret agreement among Green Party parliamentary members. Such secrecy was unnecessary and has served to heighten suspicion and mistrust between the Government parties. This could imperil the stability of the Coalition at a critical time. For, with Fianna Fáil backbenchers critical of Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s reshuffle and resentful of the Greens’ success, Mr Gormley may face stiff resistance from that quarter to some of his reforming measures.
Indeed the Green Party may struggle to secure passage of its planning Bill, where it would hope to reverse irresponsible rezoning proposals by some local councils, and to legislate for a ban on stag hunting and on corporate donations to political parties. Mr Gormley could find that his negotiating success turns out to be something of a Pyrrhic victory; where greater Fianna Fáil backbench resistance to his party’s reform agenda offsets the gain of securing a second junior ministry.