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Meaney and The Greens poll-axed

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John Hillery of Fianna Fáil greets Brian Meaney of the Green Party during the vote count at the West County Hotel. Photograph by Declan Monaghan

JUST as their government partners took a pummelling at the polls, the Green Party’s dramatic collapse into political oblivion is the price they have paid, as one prominent member suggested, “for dealing with the devil”.
The party was completely wiped out. With their six sitting TDs all losing their seats, it leaves the party without representation in the 31st Dáil. That poor showing was mirrored in Clare where Brian Meaney turned in his worst first performance in three general election campaigns.
In a strange twist of fate Meaney, who saw his vote drop by over 50% from 2,903 in 2002 to 1,154, is now one of their more senior elected political figures in the country. Yet, he admits he was braced for the backlash from the Clare electorate.
“One of the reasons I ran was that I knew the party was facing obliteration. No doubt, we suffered greatly for being in government with Fianna Fáil. But I wasn’t prepared to walk away. I wanted to face people at the doorstep.
“There was anger out there and I picked that up on the canvass. People were saying ‘Brian we like you, we respect you, we admire you but we can’t vote for you’. But I don’t try and predict what somebody wants me to say, I just say what I feel and believe in and what I think is right.
“Perhaps I may be a bit too robust at times, too robust for my own good in not concealing what I believe. There may be times in politics when you have to fake sincerity and be good at it. But that’s not me. I say what I believe,” he opined.
Councillor Meaney explained that people had advised him that they would vote for him at local elections but not on this General Election day. The reason they gave was “the Greens participation in what was a very unpopular government”.
“When you are doing things like bringing in the carbon tax, which I defended and still stand over and introduce legislation to ban stag hunting, which, I may add, was not an attack on rural pursuits. I took stances in relation to the Limerick boundary. I stood alone on that and that still remains my position.
“These issues don’t cause me to make myself vote friendly. That is something that I am going to have to accept. It may impact negatively on me if I stay in national politics,” he acknowledged.
Despite their wipe out at the polls, Councillor Meaney insists there still is a future for the Greens both locally and nationally.
“The ideology we represent hasn’t gone away,” he countered. “The issues that we have campaigned on – sustainability, energy resources – those fundamentals haven’t changed.
“The Greens will accept the decision of the electorate on this occasion, pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and regroup. I can guarantee you that we will be a significant force in future elections,” he declared.
Councillor Meaney admitted there was a very interesting period ahead for the Greens.
“Do I sigh with a certain amount of relief that nobody can point the finger at me now and say get your minister to do this and that? I know the constraints ministers operate under and certainly I have a better understanding of how governance works after our period in government.
“We also have to acknowledge that this election has witness a seismic change. We now have a completely new political landscape. That will cause its own problems and challenges. The onus is now on Fine Gael and Labour to step up to the mark and take the initiative and change this country for the better,” he added.
Councillor Meaney felt that he lost votes to Labour’s Michael McNamara while the Independent candidates also did him damage.
“I suppose we would be closely aligned to Labour in a number of issues and I think a lot of votes went to Michael McNamara. The mass of independents also ate into my base. My vote was pulled from all angles. But at the end of the day I’m still a politician, albeit it a local politician.
“I honestly believe I also suffered for speaking openly on issues. I don’t engage in trying to predict what the majority want, what the popular thing to do is. If people tell me I need to rein in on my views and not be so open with them, well that won’t happen. That’s not me. I wouldn’t be happy doing that.
“For me it’s not about the vote but about the cause. It’s about bringing an agenda and being part of the political process. Okay, I’m not going to get my expenses back for this election. That’s about €4,500 but I went into this with my eyes open.
“This is a bad day but I’ll take the hit and move on. That’s the cut and thrust of political life. I am delighted to be part of the political process. I’ve been at this for over 20 years in Clare and I intend with the favour of the electorate to be at it for another 20 years,” he pledged.

Meaney has no designs on Green Party leadership

The mantle of being the Green Party’s most senior elected public representative in the country sits on the shoulders of Brian Meaney but the Clare County Councillor has no designs on challenging for the party leadership.
After taking a thumbing in the ballot boxes not alone in Clare but across the country, resulting in the Green’s surrendering their six Dáil seats, Mr Meaney has no trouble nailing his colours to the mast.
He believes that John Gormley, despite lading them into what transpired to be a disastrous election, remains the man to front the party.
“A meeting of the party is planned for the end of March. This meeting will address the issues facing the party in the wake of the General Election. The leadership issue may arise but as far as I am concerned I will be endorsing John Gormley to continue to lead the party,” he confirmed to The Clare Champion.
“We are not really a party about leaders but are driven more by policies. But after the results of this General Election we do need to reinvent our image and sell ourselves all over again.
“Interestingly, people are saying the mistake we made was staying in government for as long as we did. They’re probably right. People were genuinely impressed by John Gormley’s performances in the leaders’ debates, so there is hope for the future. We face a huge task, particularly re-establishing ourselves in the rural constituencies,” he admitted.
Mr Meaney, who was first elected a member of Clare County Council in 2004 and is also a member of Ennis Town Council, admitted that the Green Party is a party on the ropes and facing a major financial headache. 
“We received 1.8% of the first preference votes nationally which isn’t sufficient to qualify for party funding. Consequently our viability is under threat. We are a party in a precarious financial position,” he conceded.
“We face challenging times. People perceive us as a party of perpetual protest. But we are a party that is solution orientated, a party of relevance and a party with a role to play in the country’s political narrative,” he added.
Mr Meaney, who lives at Darragh on the outskirts of Ennis, is the more senior of just two Green Party members who are sitting county councillors. The other is Marianne Butler who was co-opted to Louth County Council after Mark Deary became a senator.

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