Ireland: Senior Green Party member Patricia McKenna lashes party leadership as councillor Chris O’Leary resigns

As the 2009 Local Elections approach internal tensions within the Green Party are once more coming to the boil. There is nothing better than an election to concentrate the minds of local councillors. No better people to sniff the political wind. Today Cork City Council councillor Chris O’Leary resigned from the party in protest over its role in Government. Cllr O’Leary will contest the local elections in June as an Independent.

Dublin City Council member Bronwen Maher said today that she was "Very unhappy" and was reviewing her position. Speaking on Newstalk radio, she said:

“I have been very unhappy and I am reviewing my position. There’s a lot of concern in the Green Party that we’re not achieving in government. We’ve been there for eighteen months, now, what have we achieved?”

There is strong speculation that she will announce her resignation at a news conference tomorrow.
Meanwhile former MEP and member of the party’s national executive Patricia McKenna -no fan of the coalition deal with FF- has attacked the leadership. She claims that the leadership wishes to maintain the coalition arrangement with FF irrespective of the cost. McKenna is regarded as the conscience of the party and carries a heavy political clout. It is an open secret that the party leadership has been unhappy with McKenna who adopted an anti coalition stance.

U-turns on the use of Shannon Airport by the US Military, the co-location of private hospitals on the grounds of public hospitals, the destruction of the Tara Valley and on incineration had already begun to demoralise the grassroots of the party. Cutbacks in health and education have further sapped morale. The party has achieved precious little in government. With further massive cut backs in the offing it is highly likely that many branch members will resign or will just melt away.

The Green Party is essentially a campaigning party- more suited to opposition than government. Much of its support is anti establishment. There is massive tension between the Realos (pragmatists) and the Fundis who are idealists and are prepared to cling to fundamental principles at all costs.
The internal contradictions within the party appear insuperable.

The Green Party is now trapped. If Green Ministers-John Gormley and Eamon Ryan- turn chicken and cut and run, their credibility is shattered. On the other hand continued participation in government may cripple the party organization. The Green ship now sails for the rocks of political destruction.
Meanwhile opposition parties such as FG and Labour prepare to hoover up disillusioned Green votes.

Ireland's Green Mouse

Ireland is home to a very special Green Mouse. I speak of course about the political Green Mouse. It hides and hides and hides. Green Mouse is now so coy. It has lost much of its nutritious food. Its diet of co-location terror and ethical foreign policy is no longer available. It now feeds on less nutritious roughage of incineration and tar and chips. Haggard and gaunt it manages a little squeak from time to time. Today the little Green rodent peeped out and squeaked and squeaked. -Just avoiding the FF tom cat.


The sound was barely audible. "Give me a little taste of Mahon. Give me a little taste of Mahon. Not too much, not too much. I love red herrings, red herrings, red herrings. I love hypocrisy, hypocrisy, and hypocrisy".
Green Mouse has now scampered back to its little political hellhole a pale shadow of its former self.

What a sad tale.

Ireland-Has the Green Party a raison d'etre?

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.