It still ain’t easy being Green

COMMENT

TWO weeks ago, I wrote here that Fianna Fáil had no respect for the Green Party, their partners in Government. I should have gone further but I didn’t know then what I know now – the Greens have no respect for themselves.
So we cannot really blame Fianna Fáil as I did two weeks ago. But how can anyone have respect for the Greens after listening to their twittering about the need for rotating ministers in government? The idea that party leader John Gormley should step aside now in favour of allowing Ciarán Cuffe into the Cabinet is pure daft. No self-respecting political party could possibly come up with such an idea.
I have consistently praised the Green Party in this column. More than any other party, they have taught us to respect the environment and our natural resources. For all their existence, however, they had been preaching from the backbenches, where they had no power to do anything.
But a new dawn broke for the party in Ireland in 2007 when they decided to enter government.
At last, they were going to be in a position to practise what they had been preaching. But unfortunately, their entry into government coincided with the death of the Celtic Tiger and they had to support measures they would have bitterly opposed if they had stayed out of government.
They had to compromise a lot of their principles in order to keep the Government together. They showed a maturity few expected of them as they resisted tremendous pressure to walk.
They wisely decided it was better to have the half a loaf of some power rather than having no bread at all by going into opposition.
While nobody can blame the Greens for the collapse in our economy, they have had to share with Fianna Fáil the hostility of the people for the Government in general. And they paid the price at the local and European elections last June when the party was all but wiped out.
However, they earned the respect of all those who believe that a general election now would solve nothing.
That was until we heard last week about their ministers riding off into oblivion when their work has only started.
The best thing now is for them to keep their mouths shut about this and pretend it never happened.
The same applies to that other crazy idea, which would give them a super junior minister in Cabinet along with Gormley and Eamon Ryan. They have only six TDs so they cannot expect to have half of them in the Cabinet along with another as a minister of state.
Fianna Fáil backbenchers who would have to be passed over would not put up with it. So, if they know what is good for them, the Greens will drop that idea too.
They could make an issue out of it if they wished to because now, more than ever before, with Martin Cullen resigning his Dáil seat, Fianna Fáil have to rely on the Greens to stay in power.
The future of the Government is in their hands. But they should not overplay the cards they have been dealt.
The remaining time in Government will really test Brian Cowen’s ability to retain power and to lead. It is going to be harder than ever to take the tough decisions that still need to be taken if we are to get out of this recession. I think he can rely – in the short trerm, at least – on the Green Party.  But as time goes by and the day of reckoning approaches, more and more of his own backbenchers are going to feel the pressure.
He has also to resist the demands of the public sector unions. But he will have the support of the wider public in that.
But who knows what may happen if industrial action really begins to bite in the schools and in the health sector?
There is one thing more than anything else holding this Government together and that is the knowledge that if it falls, both Government parties will be hammered at the polls. But that knowledge might not be sufficient to prevent a Fianna Fáil TD here or a Green Party deputy there from voting against some vital Government proposal down the line. Or some issue might arise to divide them from Fianna Fáil.
We have had some shock resignations from Government and from the Dáil over the past few weeks. Who is to say we are not going to have more resignations over the coming weeks and months? We live in interesting times. Watch this space.
Meantime, the Greens will have to work hard at regaining our respect.