‘It is the proudest day of my life’

THERE were scenes of jubilation in the Mansion House in Dublin last night after Green Party members voted overwhelmingly to enter government with Fianna Fáil.

Members voted overwhelming in favour of the deal the Green Party negotiating team had agreed with Fianna Fáil.

The party leadership required a two-thirds majority — or 67% of those present — to be in favour of the deal.

In the end, almost 86.8% voted in favour. There were 510 votes cast in total, only two of which were spoiled. Some 441 were in favour of the deal, with just 67 against.

Party leader Trevor Sargent was clearly buoyant after the result had been announced. “It is the proudest day of my life,” Mr Sargent said. He then promptly announced he was resigning, so as to fulfil a pre-election promise not to lead the Greens into coalition with Fianna Fáil.

However, Mr Sargent made clear he was fully in support of the deal, and is likely to serve as a junior minister in the new government. In a “spirit of co-operation”, he will support the nomination of Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach in the Dáil today.

After 25 years of fighting for change, the party was finally in a position to implement its policies, Mr Sargent said.

“It is a day when courage won out over caution,” he said. “It’s a day when a hunger for change won out over the status quo.”

Party chairman John Gormley said the Greens would enter government with a “certain amount of trepidation but in the full knowledge that this is the only way we can implement Green Party policy”.

There was no immediate reaction from Fianna Fáil last night.