Red herring distracts from green washout

IT’S been a while since there was a moment of genuine drama during a leader’s speech at a political conference.

The last time was 2000, when pro-life campaigners interrupted Bertie Ahern’s speech to that year’s Fianna Fáil ard fheis.

Mr Ahern was caught unawares, and Fianna Fáil certainly didn’t welcome the intervention.

At this weekend’s Green Party conference, it was a very different ball game.

Green leader John Gormley created the drama himself by criticising the human rights abuses in Tibet.

While his language was softer than originally planned, it had an effect: The Chinese delegation of three promptly rose to their feet and walked out — all of which was on camera.

That little piece of televised drama helped Gormley in three ways.

Firstly, it helped him recover the moral high ground, at least among his own party faithful. Not so long ago, Mr Gormley was telling the public he personally believed Taoiseach Bertie Ahern’s evidence to the Mahon Tribunal. Unsurprisingly, the Greens were accused of compromising their high principles — this, after all, was the party which had been most critical of Mr Ahern prior to the election.

It’s a big leap from the tribunal to Tibet. But by saying what he did on Saturday night, Mr Gormley was effectively sending out a message that the Green leadership remained courageous enough to speak out on important issues. While the party faithful bought that, it remains to be seen whether the watching public will. Time will tell.

The second benefit for Mr Gormley is increased respect for his own leadership. It’s not hyperbole to say that his predecessor, Trevor Sargent, is idolised among the party faithful. Over the weekend, Mr Sargent got several glowing mentions and one sustained standing ovation. Mr Gormley hasn’t earned that level of affection yet. But speaking out in the way he did will undoubtedly increase party members’ admiration of him.

Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, Mr Gormley’s criticism of the Chinese helped obscure the fact that there was almost nothing else of note in his speech.

Leaders’ addresses are essentially about promises. Fianna Fáil knows that better than any other party, which is why, throughout his tenure, Mr Ahern has used his leader’s address to tell people what he will give them: Lower tax rates, free health checks, more gardaí, teachers and so on.

But Mr Gormley’s speech contained little in the way of big announcements. Instead, it focused on justifying the Greens’ pact with “the devil”, as one party TD infamously described Fianna Fáil last year. Ten months into government, Mr Gormley and his senior party colleagues were anxious to defend their record and convince members they had done the wise thing by going into coalition.

In the end, they had little convincing to do. When a motion of censure — criticising the pace at which the Greens were implementing their agenda in Government — was discussed on Sunday morning, it was comfortably defeated. The vast majority of the party are happy to be in government, and believe their ministers are doing a good job.

But, again, Mr Gormley and company have more to do to convince the wider public. His speech seemed tailored to be “safe” — an effort to convince viewers at home that the Greens were sensible and pragmatic in government, rather than excessively liberal and loony, as they had been portrayed in past years.

To find wider appeal in next year’s local and European elections and beyond, however, the party will need more than just a list of achievements aimed at convincing the party faithful. They’ll need more than just playing it safe.