Wiping out the Greens would be a completely irrational act.

An honest man: Let's kick the shit out of him!

An honest man: Let's kick the shit out of him!

If only we had a new party! The cry goes out. If only we had a party that was made up of people who had an honest reputation, and weren’t funded by the sort of people who turn up at tribunals and tents. If only we had a party that could honestly say it opposed the planning madness of the last ten years. If only we had a party that was serious about fighting corruption and long term strategy and rational planning and reforming politics and devolving local power to local communities. A party like that would clean up!

Turns out we do. And turns out we are squaring up to do to them what Henry Ford did to the village blacksmith. Just think about the logic for a minute: Fianna Fail, the most corrupt party in the country, the party that took us to where we are today, will win at least 10 seats, and probably far more. Even at its low ebb, it will win more seats than the Green party have won in their entire history. And the Green Party? They face total annihilation. Why? Because they went into government? Because they made decisions that every other party would have been forced to make? Or is it because they tried to clean up the political and planning system that got us where we were today. The bastards! Of the five main parties, the Greens were warning about bad planning way ahead of everyone else. So we take them outside and put a political bullet in them? What?  

Don’t get me wrong. I was livid when they supported that ludicrous blasphemy thing. My jaw hit the ground as they buckled on Tara and Shannon, two issues where I didn’t really care too much about anyway but which mattered to a lot of their voters. And don’t get me started on neutrality or nuclear power. But they got real on Europe, and delivered on civil partnership and nearly got corporate donations and the elected mayors through after years of other parties yakking about it. And most of all, as I watched John Gormley debate, I couldn’t help thinking that this guy is serious in a time when (to paraphrase President Shepherd) we need serious people. They’re not bought, and they have pursued policies which were unpopular but were right, and that is what we always say we want in our leaders. I campaigned against John Gormley in three general elections, and whilst I disagreed with him on some things, I can tell you one thing: John Gormley is a patriot.

I want a Fine Gael government, but I want it free from Labour’s economic policies (now with an extra dash of Jack O’Connor). I want their economic policies and their pro-Europeanism. But I also want someone serious about the need to change politics and to keep a socially liberal flag at the cabinet to keep an eye on Leo and Lucinda. If the Greens hold a couple of seats, and Enda is close to a majority, there’s a serious chance, if only for the fact that it will cost him less cabinet seats than Labour. 

That would, I believe, on balance, be a good thing.

4 thoughts on “Wiping out the Greens would be a completely irrational act.

  1. “If only we had a party that was serious about fighting corruption….”

    then later

    “Just think about the logic for a minute: Fianna Fail, the most corrupt party in the country”

    That’d be the same ones that The Greens went into power with and supported for far too long ?

    I’m thinking about the logic alright, which is why the Greens should be wiped out.

  2. I agree with the general thrust of the blog post.

    Also, not happy with the Fine Gael proposal to abolish the Seanad. It’s broken, but why get rid of it altogether when fixing it would be a far more progressive option?

    The proposal to abolish the Seanad will vest more power in the Dáil, but unless the Dáil itself is refromed radically you only will make the situation even worse. Abolishing the Seanad while not reforming the Dáil is a very retrograde step for Irish democracy.

  3. Totally agree about the Greens, though not so sure I’d like a Fine Gael govt at the moment. Not happy with the abolition of the Seanad proposal, or the downgrading of our native language in the Education system.

    Without an upper house, and with a single party govt. there wouldn’t be enough checks done on legislation!

    And the teaching of Irish should be reformed, not all-but wiped out!

  4. Pingback: Tweets that mention Jason O Mahony » Blog Archive » Wiping out the Greens would be a completely irrational act. -- Topsy.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *