According to The Irish Independent GREEN Party Senator Dan Boyle has revealed that he came "close to losing his mind" in the tough negotiations with Fianna Fail.He also said that Transport Minister Noel Dempsey provided the biggest "angry moment" of the entire eight days of negotiations to form a new government...
The Green Party is now a toothless tiger trapped in a coalition with FF and the PDs. It has little or no political leverage. The Government has sufficient support in the Dail to function without the Greens. Their main role will be to act as FF's mudguard for unpopular decisions. It was a major tactical blunder to enter coalition. FF negotiators completely outfoxed the Greens.
Core principles have been consigned to the dustbin of history. Co-location was accepted without a whimper. Greens in opposition have campaigned against the use of Shannon by the US military. This opposition melted in the negotiations with FF. Dublin City Council has signed a contract for the construction and operation of the Poolbeg incinerator under terms guaranteeing that a certain amount of waste will be burned there annually. John Gormley and Ciaran Cuffe have criticised this decision. This is a very weak and useless response.
The Greens have lost out on the M3. Green Party Minister Eamon Ryan has now stated that he will be backing a yes vote in next year's referendum on the new EU treaty. This may result in serious infighting. Has the party got any core principles? Has it got a raison d'etre?
It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that a split will ensue and that Patricia McKenna could lead a new Green party. FG and Labour can now hoover up disillusioned Green votes.
Quite frankly I cannot understand how Dan Boyle recommended the agreement with FF.
1 comment:
This seems a very partisan post. I live in Dublin South East and would not think that FF have outfoxed the Greens. They didn't really need to. They had the vast majority of numbers in the make up of this government and so had far more leverage.
It would appear a political blunder only if the Greens don't get anything out of this. They've only been in a short while and yet there has been movement on a number of issues: building regulations, nitrates directive, water quality springing to mind. All are core environmental policies.
The shannon element is not something that bothers me - nothing was ever going to change on that front. DCC move to incineration is undermined by the financial change by Gormley so that isn't lost yet. That was an issue for me in the last election, and I know Gormley's stance on this matter is very strongly felt.
I won't get into the M3.
As to the split, I have no idea. But it doesn't make any sense on first look. They claim party numbers are up by 21% and that they have only a handful of resignations. which would suggest that a split isn't on the cards.
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