The leader of the Green Party, Mr Trevor Sargent, should be well pleased by the manner in which the party's annual conference was conducted in Cork at the weekend. With a general election only a matter of months away, the conference gave serious thought to the prospect of participating in government and took further steps towards the creation of new administrative structures. It was positive, progressive stuff.
In moving towards mainstream politics, the party has emphasised the shortage of affordable housing, along with a lack of public transport and of adequate medical and educational facilities. Strategies for ending poverty though a basic income and refundable tax credits were given prominence. And speakers advocated economic efficiency, ecological conservation and social equity as keys to sustainable development. It meant altering the way people lived, delegates agreed, changing the emphasis from relentless consumption and economic growth to more sustainable economic activity.
For the past year or so, the Green Party has attracted about 5 per cent of public support and, within the past month, that figure has risen to 9 per cent in Dublin. On the basis of those figures, party officers would hope to double its Dáil representation from two to four, or even five, TDs.
The Green Party will campaign on an independent platform in the coming general election and will seek voting preferences from across the political divide. In the aftermath of that contest - and depending on the outcome - the party will put together a shopping list of demands as the price of its participation in government. And a special delegate conference would have to ratify any arrangement.
Last year, the party voted to elect its first leader at annual conference. This year, delegates agreed to appoint a chairman and a general secretary. The party is changing its image and sharpening its organisational structure as it prepares to compete with more traditional political machines.