New Government - Bringing the Greens on board

LONG portrayed as “flaky”, sandal-wearing “brown ricers”, Green party activists will have a profound impact on the political life of the country if they opt today to enter coalition and govern the country for the next five years.

Following a series of missed deadlines, botched deals, breakdowns and false starts, the stuttering negotiations with Fianna Fáil came to a close on the fine print last night, leaving party leaders Bertie Ahern and Trevor Sargent to reach agreement on the key issues of a draft programme for government.

With hundreds of paid-up Greens heading for the party convention at the Mansion House in Dublin, having been summoned by email yesterday, the challenge facing the leadership will be to sell a broadly based policy package, including a tantalising prospect of influencing key government decisions, a scenario unimaginable just a few short years ago.