The Green Party gets wise and sets off on the road to power

THE Green Party is undergoing a quiet transformation. It’s ever so slowly getting realistic in its ambitions for its environmental agenda and slowly becoming more mainstream in its economic and social policy.

The party’s conference in Kilkenny last weekend overwhelmingly endorsed a proposal that it commit itself in the next election to not increasing headline rates of income and corporation tax ‘for the foreseeable future’. It represents a dramatic shift from the Greens’ traditionally high tax policy. The party’s finance spokesman, Dan Boyle, has unapologetically presented this commitment on tax rates as a move designed to insulate the party against political attacks from those who would wish to portray the Greens as dangerous on tax and economic policy.

At the same time as the Greens are becoming more mainstream, the mainstream parties are becoming greener. Policies for which the Greens have long argued on waste reduction, environmental protection and on the need for alternative sources of energy are now being actively implemented by the government and by local authorities. The Greens are being flattered by imitation. Some of this is happening because European regulations and other commitments are compelling our government to meet stiff targets in reducing waste and emissions - or face severe fines. Some of it is happening because concerns about the long-term security of the world’s oil supply, coupled with political instability in many oil-producing nations, have put the need for alternative energy at the top of the international political agenda. It was the main topic, for example, at last week’s European Summit in Brussels.