Eco-warriors battling for radical soul of the party
Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Health Minister Mary Harney and Environment Minister John Gormley at the news conference on medical cards earlier this week
THE eco-warriors of Irish politics will strenuously argue that the most awful day in government is still better than the most sublime day in opposition.
Commendable as that stiff resolve and stubborn determination to succeed in government may be, the party which once cast itself as the Dail's paragons of virtue kowtowed to their superiors in Fianna Fail when the medical card proposal first came before cabinet.
This week's belated threats to pull out of government, the belated statements of concern, the belated apologies and the belated attempts to label the Opposition as "hypocrites" has shown the new principle of the Green Party: survive at all costs.
Only six months ago, Green Party leader John Gormley told party members it was they who would ensure the party remained true to its founding principles and that, in the words of John F Kennedy in 1963, they "use power but that power does not use us".
An earlier quote by John F Kennedy now seems more appropriate in the aftermath of the medical card debacle: "Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth."
Prior to becoming leader of the Green Party, John Gormley as an Opposition spokesman, was an unwavering critic of healthcare policy, and led calls for the appointment of an Older Persons' Ombudsman.
In a 2006 policy document, the party pledged that if elected to government it would create a Cabinet sub-committee on ageing and older persons, and introduce a national positive ageing strategy.
At a time when the Leas Cross nursing home controversy raged, Mr Gormley claimed that "some of the elderly are treated with less dignity than that shown to the animals in Dublin Zoo".
Then, the Green Party spoke with courage and compassion, and proved they were wholly in touch with the concerns of voters, the realities they faced and the needs of our senior citizens.
Then, the party constantly described itself as "radical, realistic, responsible and ready for government".
And yet, after only their second Budget in government, many are trying to square the party of old which talked about protecting the elderly and vulnerable, with the party which last week took until Friday to publicly state its concerns about the medical card proposals.
Ultimately, it took the resignation of a Fianna Fail backbencher, and the open mutiny of half a dozen other Fianna Fail backbenchers, to flush them out into the public domain, insisting they had sent a "strong message" to their coalition partners.
It was only on Tuesday morning, following the Government's eventual climbdown, that the party's deputy leader Mary White thought to expand on what exactly that "strong message" had been. Repeatedly, she told her local radio station that the Greens had been prepared to "walk", "pull out" and "exit" government.
It smacked, however, of an attempt to re-write the history books.
With the exact tactics of the Greens unclear last weekend, Government-supporting Independent TD Michael Lowry proved himself a master of negotiations in holding out until the 11th hour on Wednesday to obtain in writing the assurances he could refer all his worried constituents to.
In his wheeling and dealing, he put into practice the words of John F Kennedy, quoted by the Green Party, and used the power afforded to him, rather than letting power use him.
When the Greens ducked for cover earlier this year as Planet Bertie came crashing down to Earth, many congratulated them on their steely resolve to hold firm and not flip-flop like the Progressive Democrats did in the past. Their silence won them the respect of Fianna Fail heavyweights.
Their silence and conformity for most of last week, however, was questionable and could usher in difficult times for the Greens ahead of the local and European elections next year.
Crucially, however, the post-Budget difficulty has offered the party a way out.
Now that Fianna Fail's colourful coalition has been reduced in number, following the resignation of Joe Behan and the withdrawal of Finian McGrath, the Green Party finds itself in the ultimate bargaining position.
Fianna Fail now needs the Greens more than the Greens need them.
Conformity can now be shelved.
The Green Party, if it chooses to put the ghosts of this past week behind, can now reclaim the tag line of the party which is "radical, realistic, responsible and ready for government" and force a reversal of some of the harshest education cutbacks.
Yesterday, Labour's Pat Rabbitte told the Dail that the Greens' Paul Gogarty might as well just read his 20 page "missive" to the Education Minister at a book club meeting.
"The only highlights I have seen since the Green Party entered government are those in Deputy Gogarty's hair and they seem to have disappeared since the crisis started," Mr Rabbitte quipped.
His summary may be a tad unfair, but if the Greens are to turn the lowlights into highlights and prove that their opinions on policies and spending are more influential than those expressed at a book club, then next week could and should prove their week for decisive action.
- Aine Kerr
