College fees might return – but Greens will pay the price

ON most journeys a green light signals forward momentum – for this government it usually just means another U-turn by John Gormley and Co.

The latest casting aside of a once-cherished principle by the junior coalition party appears to be the re-introduction of tuition fees in one form or another.

Despite a manifesto pledge to oppose the return of third-level charges, Energy Minister Eamon Ryan signalled the likely shift which could see graduates saddled with an average debt of €21,000 to be paid back when their incomes reach a certain level. The move is bound to trigger controversy at a special party conference this Saturday at which grassroots activists were already expected to express concern about the Greens’ direction in the wake of the near wipe-out at local level.

Things started badly for the Greens in government and have only got worse since then. In-coming Environment Minister Mr Gormley looked politically impotent on his first day in the job as it emerged his Fianna Fáil predecessor Dick Roche’s last act hours earlier had been to ensure the bull-dozing of a motorway controversially close to the ancient Hill of Tara could not be stopped.

As Joni Mitchell might have sang in an updated You Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Till It’s Gone: “They paved Tara Hill, put up a parking lot.”

Many former supporters think they know what’s gone – a sense of Green moral authority on everything from rendition flights through Shannon to equal civil marriage rights for same sex couples.

It has always been something of a myth to portray the Greens as a left wing party, they loftily claim they transcend ideological allegiances and are in purpose to do nothing less than save the planet. The Greens built their base on sectional interest groups, like teachers, students, anti-Shell campaigners, anti-road protesters, etc, all linked by a common concern about environmentalism.

An important swathe of supporters now feel the cause has been violated by what they see as the squalid embrace of Fianna Fáil.

The leadership has been sufficiently rattled by its drop in support to make noises about renegotiating the programme for government.

But as it got virtually nothing in the original document apart from the vague commitment to a carbon tax at some stage in the parliament, its impact this time out must be questionable. While a Green walk-out from government would be very bad news for Fianna Fáil as it would be plunged into minority administration, Brian Cowen knows that the only party likely to fare worse than his in any snap general election prompted by the move, would, ironically, be the Greens.

This does not leave them in a position of strength, but Fianna Fáil will be aware it has to be seen to give them something for all the grand standing that has been going on. Expect a carbon tax commitment for this budget, some form of global warming reduction bill and pledges to save the proposed metro systems in the long term. The Greens do claim influence in pushing through elected mayors, finally putting an end to the e-voting fiasco, and starting the pressure for a reduction in the number of junior Ministerial posts, but their credibility was badly damaged by standing over the snatching back of medical cards last October, only to wobble when the party realised how out of touch with the public it was.

After the hammer blow of the local, euro and Dáil by-election wipe-outs, some senior party members openly hinted at an accommodation with the opposition parties.

But the Rainbow doesn’t need the Greens and voters clearly don’t want them.

The latest apparent climb-down on tuition fees only serves to make the Greens appear more than ever to be prisoners of Fianna Fáil.